Fractured Soul
by RebelFire
Summary: ( Please review!) This mysterious embodiment of silence and isolation placed her attention back to the ever steadfast reverie shuddering on the water's surface. An exhale crawled from her esophagus, a pain that shattered her moment of dream-like silence. She stood at the fence, balancing herself upon it. On opposite sides was a winter lit city and a dappled green & white forest.
1. Prolouge

**CHAPTER 1**

Forestkit raced over the grassy ground, paws barely skimming the surface. Elusivedream followed in her wake, staying to the dense shadows formed by the fading sun, which turned to the moon. Forestkits pawstep remained in the same rhythm, though she became aware of another cat's presence. Let the stalker become the stalked. She remembered her mother saying that to her as she slid forward to pounce on her sister. Suddenly, Forestkit darted to the fresh-kill pile, ignoring the rotting scents that filled her mouth with rancid taste of crow-food, she tunneled into the carcasses, peeking out to watch the feline creep closer. Elusivedream let the kits' scent wash over her scent gland, she lost the trail near a stone hollow. Quickly, Forestkit climbed out of the mound of prey and scurried up a tall mahogany tree, soundlessly watching the slinking form of the slim cat. Let the game of Cat and Mouse begin, Forestkit thought, leaping down from the low branch, landing without so much as a whisper from the leaves littering the sandy floor of the camp. Elusivedream growled as thorns barred her passageway into the leaders' den. This camp has been isolated for some time, the feline thought. Shadows loomed behind, tall as Fourtrees. The moon's icy light gave the camp a ghostly glow, illuminating the enclosure with blue light. Suddenly, Elusivedream shuddered as the bluish fog enclosing the barren camp brought visions of a labyrinth, dark and desolate, she sank into her past, the ropes of memory enfolding her into a tight grip that squeezed the very breath out of her. Forestkit watched as the feline shuddered and quaked, the kit reached to touch the she-cat with the tip of her white-socked paw. Blackness immediately engulfed her as she was pulled through a shadowy veil of alertness and swam through the glittering web of the felines memories...

_This mysterious embodiment of silence and isolation placed her attention back to the ever steadfast reverie shuddering on the water's surface. An exhale crawled from her esophagus, a pained that shattered her moment of dream-like silence. Still lounging on the log in a relaxed heap of shaded etchings, the statuesque felines obsidian pupils flickered against the pool of ice they were surrounded by, returning to the tomcat in her company. _

_"I am Elusivepaw," The apprentice's snow-starched maw scarcely moved to introduce herself, her formalities dismissing themselves into the sultry evening atmosphere with hardly a sound. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance." Elusivepaw had not asked for his name in return, a peculiar mannerism that echoed the horrid lack of social skills she possessed. Redpaw's optics occasionally flickered across to the she cat, whom he now saw as Elusivepaw opposed to a nameless deity. The name was rather fitting when her nature was taken into account, and this thought caused his ears to quiver in an aware state. He was taking notes on what he could about her, forming his own view of Elusivepaw so he would be able to react better on future occasions, that is, if any presented themselves. _

_"Likewise." His vocal chords worked at producing this vibration commonly known as sound with ease."The name's Redpaw." He added on, for it felt like the necessary thing to do if he wanted to remain polite. Taking a name but never offering one's own could prove to be a bit defensive and sketchy in the social settings. _

_The ancient timber beneath her lithe frame groaned as the introverted entity shifted the weight of her shaded figurine. She withdrew one ink-dripped paw from the water, seemingly unfazed by the cold liquid as she tucked it under the cottony wisps of mercury that sat upon her chest. A plumy tail swung behind her in lazy rhythm, tapping against the tree beneath her. Elusivepaw returned her gaze towards the ghost drowning before her, outline shaking like a leaf on the churning crests of the stream. Though she appeared far less distressed than she had back at the camp, the puzzling she-cat still seemed a bit uncomfortable in the presence of this friendly tom, not acquainted with the idea of conversing with anyone._

_"Hm," Was her only acknowledgement to his informing her of his name, Redpaw, the only way to distinguish that she had even heard him, seeing as her gaze was captured by her reflection. Silence riddled the she-cat once more, until her obsidian-splashed visage faltered in its observation of its immortal, holographic twin, her lapis lazuli candies fixating themselves upon the apprentice. It was only a brief glance, but the stare held a strange shocking effect, a magnetism that was hard to draw away from. Placing her oculars back where they had been, her fluffy appendage swung from behind her rounded haunches, and gently patted a space on the log beside her. Even though she had not been looking at him, it was obvious to tell she was beckoning him to sit closer to him. Indeed a breakthrough in this antisocial felines social life._

_Elusivepaw was an odd creature, unlike most of the other apprentices and, yet, this was what fueled the better part of his burning curiosity. Her reticent ways was the fuel to the flame. What made her so quiet? Did she enjoy being as such? Had she always been this way? A seemingly endless array of questions were scrolling through the angular cranium of his, lighting up his optics with a near iridescent characteristic. As her sapphirric eyes met his emeraldine ones, he held the gaze and waited to see what would come next. The following action that Redpaw noted was the movement of her plumed appendage around her haunches, it sweeping along the surface of the wooden trunk and gesturing to the place right beside her. It caused a smile to crease into his maw as soon as he figured it out. She was rather silent and seclusive, making this offering a pleasant surprise. Pushing down with his alabaster toes, Redpaw lifted his leaned frame from the place he had been sitting and snaked his way across the surface to place himself beside her. Perched in this new area, he tossed his two orbs down at their reflections. The shelter of the many, labyrinthine branches caused for some smoother pools that represented a more accurate version of the two felines sitting upon the ancient wood's surface. _

_"It is peaceful out here, yeah? A nice escape from camp on crowded days." Though Redpaw was an extrovert, he did enjoy his occasional time alone to collect his thoughts. On those days he would slither from camp and come out to places like these to enjoy some moments of solitude and the silent symphony of peace._

Elusivedream shook her head, urging her thoughts to enfold her scenario. Forestkit had been watching the she-cat with closely, barely a whisker length away. Startled, she experienced the felines thoughts as if they were her own, Redpaw sounded familiar. As for Elusivepaw, a strong feeling jutted the name towards the she-cat quaking before her. Without hesitation, Forestkit pounced on her, the she-cat let out a screech and rolled away. Claws unsheathed, Elusivedream realized that the "enemy" who attacked her was merely a kit. As if the kit could read her thoughts, it bristled and growled, "I am NOT just a kit!" Elusivedream backed away, her vision faded into a green and black haze. A horrible feeling shook her, exploding from her, deep inside her esophagus. A force threw her backwards, she landed with a thump against the stone wall of the glowing labyrinth. Looking at her hindleg, she saw a crystal jutting through it, blood seeping around the wound. Forestkit watched as the feline got thrusted back, looking around to see if there was another cat, she saw none. Horror flooded her as she saw the she-cat laying there with a crystal, stabbing into her leg. The last thing Elusivedream saw before the world was washed in a bathe of black, was the face of the kit, gazing into her eyes. The intensity of the gaze was to powerful, she couldn't look away. Finally, the face disappeared in a veil of night.


	2. Meet An OutCast

**CHAPTER 2**

Beneath a cloak of silence did Hollowgaze prowl, cold gaze rising upwards for a small moment to catch the sinister leer of the moon as she sent her cackles of wind against ThunderClan in that merciless way she had. A scowl littered the massively tall tomcat's angular features, even as the frigid blasts dwindled to breeze-like trickles that just barely ruffled his pelt in places. The powerful warrior sauntered languidly over to the fresh kill pile, frowning in mild disgust at the scarcity of high-quality prey. Oh well. He wouldn't eat. Shaking his head, he fixed a glare as cold as leafbare herself upon the mangled form of a petty, worthless she-cat that rested in the clearing. Hollowgaze didn't even know her name. That meant either she was some deranged recluse, or completely insignificant so as not to attract his attention for so long a time. Caring not whether she heard him, the spindly feline skulked over, tail coiling and uncoiling behind him, moonlight giving him an almost ethereal and sinister appearance. _Come out to play, little she-one? Crawl back into your grimy hole._ "Evening." purred he, fire-spattered pelt glowing black as the devil's sins.

Elusivedream looked up. _Oh no_. This cat had been tormenting her since she became a warrior, mocking her for every miscalculated leap, every mistake she made no matter how minor. She responded however, "Morning." her tone was robotic, her vocal cords parched and strained from anticipation of what this nameless cat was planning.

Hollowgaze set a hurt look on his face. "Don't tell me you're still mad because I denounced your warrior ceremony...twice in front of all the clans...lets put that behind us...Shall we?"

Elusivedream was trying hard to suppress the urge to claw him, he strutted around like the leader, hardly caring whether he knew everycat or not.

Hollowgaze's eyes glinted with malice. "I never did ask...your name."

_Never give your name to the Dark Forest..._ Elusivedream thought, seeing the resemblance between Hollowgaze and Tigerstar. "Elusivedream."

"What a beautiful name...shame it doesn't fit you." Elusivedream waited for the words to utter from the throat she planned to rip out. "Your name should've been idiotkit, then idiotpaw, and finally idiotdream." he leaned down with his head horribly cocked to one side, his eyes bulging almost. "We all know of your goal to be leader, but its never gonna happen...You know why?" he bent forwards so his breath ruffled Elusivedream's ear fur. "Because I WILL kill you..." He suddenly straightened up. "Have a good day then!" and padded off, his words echoing in the she-cats head.

..._I WILL kill you..._


	3. DevilCat

_Fire burned wherever she shone her gaze on. The forest blackened from burning were surrounded by flames, lashing out at her, turning against her. No...NO! This can't be happening...StarClan DO SOMETHING! the she-cat thought, fearful, yet calm at the same time. She created this, hadn't she? So she must be able to control it. Horribly illogical and false, this corrupted cat tried to find safety in this shadowed thought. Carefully, she continued her unpredicted onslaught, the fire spreading further with each step she took. But she couldn't turn back, she had to know...what happened to her clan? _**_Your beloved clan is gone. All because of you, dear Elusivedream...All because of you. _**_NO! Elusivedream refused to believe it, but the terror of the chance that it might be true pushed the feline to slowly accept it. **Don't run from it...embrace it. Let it ALL out, burn the place where you have been shunned...Raise the flames and have them feast on the flesh of the cats who have taunted you...bullied you...HURT YOU.**_ _Stop...STOP! Get out of my HEAD! GET OUT! Elusivedream trembled_, _she can't have done this...StarClan would've done something. Something to prevent this from ever occurring, something to block the path of this train to the future, to make it change tracks and create a new one. So, this MUST be a dream! Elusivedream laughed from relief, it's ALL a dream! A stupid stupid dream! To prove it to herself, she reached out a paw and pushed it into the flickering flames that surrounded her. Nothing happened...and then...OW! I-I got burned...Terrified, Elusivedream tried to back away, trying to believe that she was inflicting this upon herself in the reality. _**_This IS reality young one. And you cannot do anything to change the course of events. NOTHING. _**_Elusivedream whimpered. Please...don't let this happen, save me! But no one came. She curled up, vain in her futile attempts to protect herself from the oncoming fire. __**This is what you deserve...To perish by your own paws. Just like your clan..**. __They're right...I destroyed my clan...I killed the forest and the cats that dwelled within...She hunched over as she sat, I deserve this...The flickering flames engulfed the tormented she-cat instantly, and her agonized wail was cut off._

"No...help...someone..." Elusivedream muttered, jumping horribly as a paw poked her. She turned around abruptly, her claws unsheathed only to find her self nose-to-nose with Hollowgaze.

Hollowgazes eyes flashed with a menacing yellow. "Whoa tiger, I knew you liked me, but this is a bit much..." He smirked as Eluvisedreams hackles raised as she immediately took a step back. "While you have been snoring the day away, we CLAN CATS have been out hunting, you've missed the dawn patrol already..."

Elusivedreams eyes widened, "Oh no, I- I'll go right away." she hurried out, something, something about Hollowgazes voice stirred the dream she had. Pushing it aside, she ran to the Leader's Den, hurriedly making up an apology and a suitable reason as to why she had awoken so late. She rattled the vines that hung over the den entrance to announce that she had come in.

Torrentstar looked up as the panting feline trembled before him. Elusviedream stuttered. "I-I'm sorry for not wakening 'til now Torrentstar, I-" She stopped abruptly as her leader held up his tail, "What are you talking about Elusivedream? It is just the beginning of Sunrise, you have plenty of time before patrols starts."

"Wha-What?!" Elusivedream cried incredulously, "O-only sunrise? But, Hollowgaze, he told me it was past Dawn!" She watched as Torrentstar shook his head, "My dear Elusivedream, must you believe him always? He has done nothing but make a fool of you, yet, you cease to realize when he is lying to you."

Elusivedream looked at her father, "But, he-he uses that. He might be lying, or he might be telling the truth, and when I chose not to believe him..." She hung her head, now realizing she had been idiotic. "I'm sorry father, i acted irrationally. I shall go now, have a good day." She turned tail and walked out, her head hung, almost touching her ruffled chest fur.

"So...How'd it go?"

The already shamed cat turned to her right, seeing what she expected. _Hollowgaze... _He was sitting by the Sunlight Ferns, lazily washing himself, appearing contented. Yet, his eyes shone with uncontrolled malice. "Hollowgaze..." she growled.

The ash and fire warrior's mouth curved into a smile, innocent to any onlooker, sinister to his prey. "Yes, that IS my name, try not to wear it out, it would so ruin my reputation." sardonic voice hammered into Elusivedreams head. "I know you are mad because I am everything you want to be...strong, courageous, loyal...Torrentstars FAVORITE." He closed one piercing eye, "And last but not least...impossibly good-looking."

Elusivedream tried to be smart with him, she snorted. "Yeah? You good-looking? I thank StarClan then I'm not you..I'd be a LIER, TRAITOR, and a FLEA-BITTEN SCUMBAG!" she inwardly congratulated herself for retorting.

As predicted, the devil's son crushed that moment of victory. He sighed, like he were the exasperated mentor and she were the rogue-like 'paw. "Elusivedream...Elusivedream...I am so sorry you think you must lower to the level of a dog, it just shows me how...UNSTABLE you are. I'm afraid I must inform the clan...You know..." His fake smile mutated into a horrid grin. "For their own SAFETY." he then walked away, the same swagger in his walk pattern that teased her wherever she fled, the same footsteps that told her of more humiliation.

"Oh StarClan no..." she suddenly said, with a whisper as soft as the breeze that now stirred the small pile of leaves before her fragile paws. Realization had hit her, harder than she would've liked. _The voice...the voice that had spoken to her in that dark nightmare, it was- _

"Hollowgaze."


	4. Hoax?

"No you can't."

"But why?!"

"Why do you think?"

"Because I am a she-cat and she-cats are supposed to tend to kits and maintain the camp." Elusivedream repeated her fathers words again, for what seemed to be the billionth time in one moon...which it was.

"Exactly, only the she-cats that have proven themselves to be as strong, brave, courageous, and of heart can join this hunt." Torrentstar said, looking down at his daughter.

Elusivedream dipped her head and walked away, her tail dragging on the leaf-strewn ground, creating a line of misery in her wake. Torrentstar, the great leader of ParadoxClan, who never turned his back on one in need. Her father. Elusivedream had once vowed to be like him, to be just as loyal and kind, but now...She shook her head in disgust, the trees overhead rattling disdainfully, as if they agreed with her. In her fathers ridiculous horrid mind, there was a social order in the clan:

StarClan

Leader

Deputy

MedicineCat

Warriors: Toms

Elders

Loners

Clan Cats

Warriors: She-cats

Queens

Kits

Rogues.

_Me and all feline females are roped in with loners and rogues...and queens and kits! Other Clancats come before us on this twisted Caste System._ Outraged, she stood in place, taking deep breaths, trying to calm the raged beast within her. It worked, for a moment. Torrentstar confronted _her_ this time. "Elusivedream, I can see that my decision has put you at an unease stage."

_No duh you old bat. _"It would appear so." she said through gritted teeth, fighting internally with a desire to smack her fathers superior face down to the Dark Forest.

"Yes, so, to put you back to ease, I thought I may tell you that, once you have proven yourself to be worthy of the tom cat rank, I shall place you at the top of the she-cat list." He sat back on his haunches, smiling as though he honestly thought that this _speech_ would lessen her anger. Which he did.

Elusivedream's claws slid out so fast that it burned her flesh. "Thank you father, that means so much to me. To be placed on the top of the she-cat list!" she then added under her breath, "Which is below elders, loners, and rival clans."

"Hmm? Did you speak of something?" Torrentstar questioned, then purring as she shook her head jerkily in response. "Wonderful, I shall leave you with responsibility of the kits, elders, and queens no?" he then got up and left, returning to his hunting party and together, they set out.

Elusivedream's claws dug into the hard earth, ripping it to shreds. _Look after the helpless huh? You expect me to lay down and let you do this? No. I'll do something. I'll-_ She never did finish that thought that satisfied her rage for a bit. Of course not, who could? With Hollowgaze staring at you with a look of amusement plastered onto his face.

"Having a bit of trouble?" he called over to her, lazing with his usual troupe of she-cats and toms. Out of the whole of ParadoxClan, Torrentstar had named the foul cat the "Top Hunter", "Top defender and fighter", and from the she-cats "The Best Looking Tom".

Elusivedream forced a smile, "No. Why. Would. There. Be?" her voice was contorted and warped, as if her voice box was unable to make the necessary forms to convey the sounds of the words.

Relentless as always, Hollowgaze smirked and padded up to her with his gang. "Well dearie, it seems that from the state of the ground before you, you are unhappy with something." His mouth curved. "Tell me luv, whats the problem?"

Gazing for a moment at the onlooking felines, the slender cat would appear hostile if she were not to reveal her problem with this..._helpful_ tom. "Torrentstar's...ORDER of cats has been bothering me."

Curvefang and Redstripe, the two background thugs, laughed. "Whats there to be bothered by? She-cats aren't good for nuthin', us toms are smarter and faster and...smarter!"

Elusivedream's lip curled, "Yeah, I can see that..." her eyes were attracted to the other she-cats. "What about you? Don't you hate it that you are below rival clans and loners?"

Petalblossom and Frailheart shook their heads and giggled. "Why should we pay attention to you? Hollowgaze says you're deranged!"

Elusivedream was on the verge of snapping, she felt like she living on the edge of a dangerous game, where each slip-up brought her closer to the cliff, and right now, she was deciding whether to jump back to the middle. "Oh? Did he now..." she gazed at the tom in the center. "Deranged am I?"

Hollowgaze smiled, "Girls, I wasn't serious. Elusivedream's just got a bit of an issue, nothing to get worked up about." he looked at the enraged feline. "Don't pay attention to them, mate, I just want to help."

Elusivedream cocked her head. _This doesn't seem like Hollowgaze at all...Did a squirrel drop on his head? _"Oh-kay?" she said uncertainly.

Grinning, but not with malice, Hollowgaze shrugged away his shadows and beckoned her to walk with him. "I can make a point to Torrentstar that she-cats aren't to be messed with." He laughed, "I mean, imagine how I would look if I were that piece of earth you just tore apart!"

Elusivedream was becoming alarmed, what was wrong with Hollowgaze?! Was he sick? "Yeah...heh." was all she could utter from pure shock at how fast this cat had changed.

All of a sudden, Hollowgaze stopped in front of her, his gaze warm and docile. "Elusivedream. Why do you have that name? I've always wondered.."

Elusivedream backed a step away. "Well, I dunno. I never asked. Maybe because no one can understand me..." she whispered, her head dropping to rest on her chest.

A moon seemed to pass while the two cats faced each other, the soft breeze playing on their fur, ruffling it slightly. The birds' twitter was now in the background. "Elusivedream...I-I'm sorry..." Hollowgaze murmured softly, genuinely humble. "Please, don't feel that way. If no one else will, I'll try to understand you."

Elusivedream looked up slowly, "What are you playing at?!" she hissed, "Why are you acting this way? Why are you being nice?" She'd like to believe that he was suffering from some illness and this was real, but Hollowgaze's tricks were more than just a _memory_ to her. They were her life's story.

"Don't think that! I've been trying to be..._kind, _ever since Torrentstar told me how you feel about me. I'm trying to be a cat that you would like having around...maybe." he responded, his ear tips getting red.

_Don't believe him! Don't believe him! This is all a hoax! IT'S NOT REAL!_

"Just give me a chance, huh?" Hollowgaze pleaded, Elusivedream seemed to melt before him.

_This is TOO easy! He's planning something!_

"Okay." she heard herself say, unable to control her mouth. "I'll give you a chance." She felt herself smile as Hollowgaze's eyes lite up in joy and he bounced around her. _I'm going to regret this..._

**_Of course you will, mate. I mean, it's ME we're talking about...ain't it?_**


	5. FlashBacks and Frenemies

_The small she-cat scuffled in, her delicate face effortlessly smudged down into a sleepy frown. Forcing herself to stay awake, she padded towards the back of the den to mix the moss around the edges together. It was messy and obviously makeshift, but Heather did not care at the moment. She simply plopped down onto her side to curl up into a tiny ball and allow her chest to become light with even breaths. Her feathery tail curled around her body to alight on the top of her raspberry nose. With one last satisfied breath, Heatherlight slipped into a peaceful sleep. Heatherlight awoke quite abruptly, her eyes flashing open. Her glossy eyelashes fluttered over her now-exposed, emerald green orbs. Her gaze swept the Warrior's Den, noting the illuminated earth where the bramble branches did not cover and the moon shone upon. The petite she-cat sighed deeply and closed her eyes again, forcing herself to relax. After a moment or two, her pale brown tabby fur laid down upon her tender muscles underneath her lush, mottled coat. Her thick ear tufts twitched as she listened for a sound - any sound other than the peaceful lull of the sleeping Clan. Heatherlight looked around the den, watching her fellow Clanmates as their chests rose and fell with gentle dreams. 'I wish I could fall asleep again...' Heatherlight thought bitterly. She knew that once she was up, she was up. She stifled a yawn and stepped into a small pool of light, the moon's silvery rays alighting upon her, bathing her in a phosphorescent glow. Her small, raspberry pink nose wrinkled as she thought about staying up the rest of moonhigh. It wasn't a very appealing thought. Forcing down a groan, she slipped towards the entrance of the Warrior's Den, delicately picking her way through the crowd of Warriors of which were asleep. With a soft, long sigh, she landed near the entrance and looked back enviously over her shoulder. Too bad sleep wouldn't come to her - even if she sold her soul to the Dark Forest. Puffing out her cheeks in a cute pout, she stuck her head out of the den and gazed around the clearing. It looked like she would be alone... Then she steered her small, feminine body out of the Warrior's Den and completely into the clearing._

_The broad shouldered golden furred tom sat by the entrance of the warrior's den, slicing herbs into thin strips as to let dry in the sun. It was already new leaf and the sun hadn't been adamant on coming out; this was a good chance to dry a few herbs. His gaze wandered out to the camp, a wistful look on his face. Today was also a perfect day to go hunting. Light blue eyes blinked open near one side of the den. A small, light brown lump of fur was curled up inside the nest. The she-cat supposed it was rather comfy, but it had been getting a little old. With very few apprentices, especially ones that didn't do much, there were no cats gathering any new moss. She stretched out her limbs and stood up unsteadily, licking down her fur as she padded over to the entrance of th den. She almost stepped on some drying herbs on the way, how long had they been out? How long had she been in? She picked them up gently and placed them in there spots with the rest of the herbs. She looked around for a second before padding out into the clearing. Maypaw slipped back in, her light blue eyes sparkling with triumph. she was angry for having gone so far away to get moss with Shadowclan scent on it, but she had still gotten it. She pulled out the old moss and put in the new, laying down in her fresh bedding she sighed, falling into a deep sleep. The moon shone through the narrow entrance of the herbal den, the neat stacks of herbs dyed a ephemeral silver. The ground itself appeared to be distant in the moon's rays. As if it were not a part of this world. The heavy silence was accompanied by the gusts of wind outside of the closed off den, rustling outside with the lightest touch. Such movement should not have disturbed any of the felines that lived in the camp; however, a certain tom had been distant, and aloof the past days and restless. Retiring to his nest had been easy, yet sleep hadn't grasped his mind to the point where he was completely under. Just beneath the surface. The medicine cat surfaced to the sounds of the gale outside of the den as well as the light, more muted breathing of his apprentice. Falconscreech kept still, his breath held; this silence was rare and he had no wish to break it. He enjoyed if for a few moments before getting up, his fur brushing against the sides of his moss nest as he sat up, a yawn dancing across his muzzle, displaying sharp ivory fangs, turned silver in the rays of silver light cast by the moon. He felt rather frustrated with nothing in particular really. His own nerves were held taut by his own irresponsibility. At this point, it would be easy for him to change moods quickly. With a short, brisk shake, Falconscreech shook the remaining scraps of moss from his tousled pelt, his large paws keeping him balanced at the agitated movement. He was also irritated by the fact that StarClan was silent. A glance was flashed to his apprentice, Maypaw, as she slept in peace, undeterred by the scarcest movements from outside the den. Falconscreech wondered if she had received any dreams. If she had, she would have told him, right? The golden tom lifted a large equally tawny paw, giving it a thoughtful lick before setting it back down on the ground. He would have to live with it for now. There was no telling what StarClan would do, but he couldn't-No. He WOULDN'T sit around and wait hopelessly; as he had woken up, he had noted the faint ShadowClan scent clinging to the moss in his apprentice's nest. Rather than really acknowledge it, he had ignored it. But now, he needed an excuse to get out of camp. Even if it was midnight. He had concluded that Maypaw had gone to ShadowClan border for moss, which meant there was no fresh moss. Falconscreech slid his forepaws forward in a brief stretch. He would go find some moss now. Give him some time to think. With a yawn, he trotted out of the den and into the moon bathed clearing. The moon rays filtering in through the branches lacing the den was blocked off by a large, dark silhouette. A broad head swung in followed by a lean, muscular tawny body. Feverfew hung from the feline's jaws and moss lay tucked between his chin and chest, icy eyes glowing as coldly as the moon. It was soon evident that this was Falconscreech, the unique markings on his face apparent as the glare of the moon was blocked off by his shoulders. With long strides, Falconscreech was at the herb storage, depositing the leafy fronds of feverfew in their rightful place rather awkwardly due to the moss at his chin. Falconscreech moved at quickly, eager to climb into his nest before dawn approached the forest. His chin lifted up from his chest, the balls of moss landing on the nearly empty pile of moss usually found in the corner of the den. Satisfied, Falconscreech cast a glance out of the den and at the moon staring down coldly upon the silent forest. With no other word, the golden tom turned and retired into his nest for the night, icy blue eyes fixed on the moon until they fluttered close, giving way to darkness. Heatherlight appeared at the entrance of the Medicine Den, looking bad-tempered and frustrated. She hated stepping on thorns because they stung horribly, and also yielded you from doing anything else. Her thin, rubbery lips pursed in a tiny pout, she limped farther into the den, muttering something underneath her breath like 'accursed thorn' and 'blasted little thing'. In here, the sunlight could barely touch the ground, making the earth cool and soft and also soothed her paws. But Heatherlight was holding up her paw as she limped on three legs towards the medicine cat and the medicine cat apprentice. Heatherlight ruffled her light brown pelt, her white tail-tip flicking behind her lazily. Tilting her head to the side, she looked around the den with bright interest shining in her green depths. She hadn't even been in here before. _

_Shaking her head, she held her paw up high, allowing the black thorn to shine upon her beige paw pad. "Falconscreech... Maypaw...?" Heatherlight murmured, looking at both cats which were helpfully asleep. _

_"Come on, wake up..." She mewed carefully, though her eyes were set intent upon her pad. Seeing that the Medicine Cat wouldn't wake up, she plopped down onto her rear end, adding a tiny 'hmph' to emphasize her point. It looked like she would have to spend the day in here until Falconscreech or Maypaw woke up. Which would, Heatherlight hoped, be soon enough. Her ears perked for any sound of life from the clearing, she allowed her eyes to close, her eyelashes fluttering over her lime-green orbs. Something told her she would be waiting quite some time..._

_"What do you want." A sharp, husky voice cut through the serene silence set in the cool, herbal den. Slowly, leisurely, the broad golden tom arose from his nest, the slivers of sunlight sending his pelt alight with multiple shades of gold. Bits of moss was quickly blown away as Falconscreech stepped out of his nest, his glacial eyes cold and as stoic as ever. At the sight of the dozing she-cat, he let out a snort. Why did someone need a medicine cat's attention so early in the morning? A brief glance toward the entrance of the den corrected his latter mistake. Ah well. He was going to get lazy if he kept on sleeping in. A large, black laced paw extended, a long, ivory talon unsheathing. _

_Roughly, he prodded the warrior with the arch curving the claw, his teeth baring as a yawn prepared to strike, "...Hey you... If you need help wake up." He growled, his deep tone piercing and already free of the slumber that had taken him a few moments before. His icy blue eyes glinted steely as he awaited the she-cat's awakening, as if preparing to chew her out. Falconscreech wasn't tolerant, even if it was reasonable and he honestly hoped this warrior knew. Heatherlight: Glossy eyelashes fluttered open to expose her bright green depths. Usually when Heatherlight awoke, then shone happiness and excitement for a new day. However, when her orbs locked upon Falconscreech, they narrowed. _

_"That's some wake-up call..." Heatherlight muttered darkly, heaving a long, drawn-out sigh at how he had 'gently' woken her up. For a moment, she forgot why she was here - she felt perfectly fine and dandy. However, she was moving in a gesture to sit up, when she felt a sharp pain stinging her pawpad. Stifling a groan, she forced a sheepish grin to lace her thin, velvetines lips. _

_Then, in one swift movement, her pawpad was in Falconscreech's face. "Thorn." Heatherlight told him bluntly, signaling to the black thorn that was painfully protruding into her well-worn pad. She had been planning to pull it out herself, but was afraid of an infection, so she had decided that simply visiting the Medicine Cat would be the best idea. 'Well...' Heatherlight thought, her eyes scanning the grumpy tom, 'I suppose it's better than an infection...' In quick reaction, Falconscreech drew back, lips curling back slightly to reveal ivory fangs, "Che." At her quick explanation, Falconscreech leaned forward, glacial eyes regarding the thorn with cold expertise. Hm. At least it wasn't anything about aching joints or such. Annoying cases really. His face twisted into a scowl. The thorn was deeply embedded into her pad. Would be sore for a couple of days. Falconscreech blew out a sharp breath, "You. Hold still." He growled. And then he was rasping his tongue over her pad, the rough surface cleaning away the grit present. Despite his rough personality before, he was gentle as he cleaned away any factors for an infection. After a couple of heartbeats, his teeth finally fastened around the protruding thorn and in a quick drawing movement, it was out. _

_The golden tabby tom spat out the thorn with a look of faint disdain before glancing back to Heatherlight, "I'll get you some herbs." Falconscreech's facial expression was best described as just blank, almost mechanical as he turned toward his herb stores. Since it was a thorn...Dock leaves would cool the puncture down...Marigold if it got infected...His mind was far from blank. Heatherlight almost laughed aloud at the few words they were sharing. However, she kept her thin, velvetine lips pursed as she watched Falconscreech work swiftly and silently. She tilted her head to the side in innocent, kit-like question. She tensed only slightly when he pulled out the thorn then spat it to the ground. She puffed out her cheeks in a cute pout, wondering what she had ever done to make him so grumpy. Then again, he was rather notorious for being not the kindest soul in the world. So she sat there almost stiffly, trying to preoccupy herself by looking around. _

_She gave the tiniest nod of her head when he announced about getting some herbs for her and she offered him a small smile. "Thanks." She said, her white tail-tip flicking behind her idly. She boredly twitched her ears, trying to listen to the outside clearing and any birdsong that might float into the Medicine Cat Den at this time of day. She wondered if and how long she would have to stay off her paw - after all, it hadn't looked like a big thorn, but it had hurt like blazing StarClan when it had entered her well-worn pad. Seeing that Falconscreech was still gathering any herbs, she lifted her dainty paw and turned it over to gaze at the small puncture wound in her pad. For a fleeting moment, she was actually glad that she had come here - the little wound looked like it come easily pick up an infection. So, deciding that Falconscreech was going to take his merry old time, she wrapped her long, bushy tail around her thin, feminine frame, resting the tail-tip upon her dainty white paws. She sat there, waiting, her wide-eyed green gaze flickering around the den, as if trying to picture something interesting to think about while she was in here. A large black laced paw reached out, snagging up a broad, dark green leaf. The leaf was scrutinized by icy eyes, a satisfied grunt resounding from Falconscreech's throat as he confirmed it as dock. His broad head dropped down to pick it up between two ivory fangs. Nose twitching at the bitter, leafy scent presented by the herb, Falconscreech turned to face Heatherlight once more. An eyebrow arched as he noticed the she-cat's wandering gaze, a sigh whistled past the leaf held delicately in his jaws. What could possibly be so interesting in this ol' herb filled den? Falconscreech felt a slight pang of guilt at the thought. Ah. He really didn't deserve this position. _

_Mentally shrugging off guilt, Falconscreech allowed the leaf to fall from his jaws, it in turn floating to the ground softly; serenely, " Show me your paw." The golden tabby tom sounded resigned, yet there was nothing peculiar with the expression on his face. Just the normal, grumpy glint in his eyes. Behind him, his golden furred tail twitched, just a small, perceptible twitch. Yet still, nothing indicated his inner and foremost thoughts as he gazed at Heatherlight with glacial immediately, Heatherlight stuck out her paw. She turned it over to show Falconscreech the wound in which the thorn had made its way into. Green orbs were set intently upon the puncture before they flickered down to the herbs in which Falconscreech held in his jaws. She blinked at the leaves now on the ground, wondering what they were. She stifled a sigh, then, working up her courage, she asked innocently,"Do I have to stay off this paw?" She asked him. _

_She tilted her head to the side, trying hard to keep her questions from leaping off her tongue and causing the medicine cat to become even more cold towards her. She decided that choosing her words carefully was best. By now, she was growing very bored sitting here. But she need only stay here a little while longer as Falconscreech applied the herbs. Then she would be able to leave - finally. But at what price? Even if she was able to leave the tangy, herb-scented den, what would she do? Anticipation gripped her as her stomach churned at the thought of a monotonous Heatherlight lying at the back of the warrior's den, banging her head against the dirt floor in utmost ennui. She nearly groaned aloud at this thought. However, she mentally clawed herself. She didn't know what Falconscreech would tell her do to. He might actually tell her that her wound was nothing and that she could fulfill her warrior duties without any questions. Pursing her lips, her tail-tip flicked idly as she waited patiently, though there was an edge in her emerald orbs as she stared straight ahead._

Light shone in suddenly, Elusivedream opened eyes just to have retinas burned. "Wha-WHAT?!" she cried, opening her eyes to look around. She was just outside of

clan boundaries, laid out beside he rushing river that signaled the start of enemy territory.

_How...how'd I get here?! _She thought, fear already starting to control her stiff movements. It seemed that she had been carried, or gone here without realizing. Elusivedream padded back to camp, her head so low that her whiskers brushed against the grass that littered the forest floor.

"Look! She's back!"

"But why?"

"Maybe she found out shes too weak by herself."

"Perhaps, or she was threatened. I doubt Elusivedream would leave when leafbare has begun to arrive."

She looked up to see Hollowgaze standing up for her, the sun shining behind him gave a reddish ora around his dark fur. He looked like some sort of savior who escaped battle unscathed. Elusivedream looked up at him, giving him a look that clearly shot out her unasked question, 'why the heck would you do that?' He grinned, perhaps guessing her hidden question.

"Clear up you lot, go back to whatever garbage you were doin'." He motioned for Elusivedream to follow, and seeing no where else to go, she padded in his wake. He stopped near the Warrior's Den so they were out of view from unwanted eyes. "Where were you? The whole clan thought you had run off!" he exclaimed.

Elusivedream narrowed her eyes. "And you didn't?" she asked, unbelieving.

Hollowgaze looked hurt. "No...actually. I thought that either you were dragged, or that you went to blow off some steam. You always looked like a hothead." he joked, but unfortunately for him, Elusivedream wasn't in the mood for jokes of any sort.

She turned away, heading back out into the forest is seemed. Annoyingly persistent, Hollowgaze raced behind her til each broke out into a full out run. _Go choke on a rock and die! _Elusivedream thought furiously as, though she remained ahead, the tom was close by. Suddenly, Hollowgaze started laughing while Elusivedream stared at him as though he went mad.

"This is the most fun I've had in a whil- OOMPH!" his exhilaration statement was cut when he smacked face first into a thick oak, causing an angry squirrel to throw acorns at him. "Hey! Knock it off you lousy git!" he yelled at it.

Now it was Elusivedream's turn to laugh. "I bet that put a dampener on your 'good-looks'!" she exclaimed, hardly able to stand straight from an uproar of laughter.

Hollowgaze brushed off the acorns with his paw. "Yeah yeah, rub it in why don'tcha. Help me get it off will ya mate?" Elusivedream, still smirking, tore off the acorns painfully slow. "WATCH IT!"

Elusviedream grinned and raced away when Hollowgaze, torn between annoyance and joy, scampered after her. "I'll get you! Just you wait!" he yelled.

"WHY DON'T YOU WAIT TO SAY THAT AFTER YOU'VE CAUGHT ME?!" She shouted back, unaware that she was racing towards an unexpected drop in the landscape that serenely surrounded her. Later, she might've thought that a good lesson for this instant is that 'Nothing is as it seems'. However, she might not ever get that chance, she'll have to wait til she gets that chance...


	6. Nyx, Perfected, Stolen, CrimsonHelp?

A branch shook slightly causing snow to tumble down making a light thump on the snowy ground below, a dark shape sat where the branch connected to the tree pondering what he was actually doing out here it was cold but he couldn't stay home one more second he would have gone crazy, he stood up tall spotted legs coiled then sprang up to the next branch where some of the remaining sunlight flickered across his dark gold coat marred with dark spots. He scanned the area below with sharp green eyes. He was a large cat very large but that was purely because of his heritage, he was very friendly though he didn't speak much preferring to watch and listen.

Breathing in the cold, dense air, the black she-cat looked around. She exhaled, a puff of a pale fog escaping her lips. A shiver ran down her back, making the fur on her spine rise in attempt to warm herself. She continued to walk the woodland, passing many snow-filled trees. Nyx's head lowered slightly, ice blue eyes darting around with caution. Even though she knew this land like the back of her paw, she moved carefully, knowing more than herself lived there. Her ear flicked as she heard a branch creak and the a thudding of paws landing on the ground. A low growl started in her chest and she looked around.

"Who's there?" her hoarse voice sounding hostile and fierce. Her clear claws slid from their protective sheaths and dug in the frozen earth beneath her paws.

The tall spotted tom had backed up against the tree to attempt to stay out of the snow as much as possible, he turned at the sound of the she-cats voice he flicked an ear watching her for a moment, she didn't seem like a threat just mildly defensive. "Sorry if I startled you," he meowed stepping forward "I'm Shadow." the distinct smell of kittypet lingered on his fur.

Nyx blinked slowly as she saw the large tom, she crouched down and hissed lightly. "It's alright.." she sighed, standing straight. She rested her chin to her upper chest and rasped her rough pink tongue along the black, soft surface. She matched his gaze and gave a small smile. "I'm Nyx, it's nice to meet you, Shadow." she purred lightly.

"Its nice to meet you as well Nyx." he meowed, his coat lay sleek along his lean muscular body. Large ears swiveling for other sounds and other creatures. He blinked, "What brings you out in this wonderful weather?" his voice dripped with sarcasm.

Nyx rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Well.. I've just decided to stretch my legs and get out of my den for so long." she said, chuckling. She looked at Shadow and curled her tail around herself, which only offered little warmth.

He nodded, "I don't know about you, but personally I find the cold purely awful." a chill ran through his body, "Why don't we walk and talk? It should make it a little warmer," he suggested. Lifting his paws which were starting to go a bit numb.

Nyx nodded and let her body press against his. What? Can't a she-cat get warmth out in the cold from one of her many acquaintances? She looked at the tom, ready for him to start walking forward. "So, what brings you here?"

He gave her a strange glance when she pressed against him but then gave a tiny shrug, what did it matter? and she was kinda warm. He started through the snow, "As I'm sure you've noticed, I'm a kittypet and the other cat that lives with me...well she drives me insane." he chuckled. "Its not her fault, she's just young."

Nyx nodded, her tail flickering. "Yes.. I don't have anything against kittypets.. knowing my mother once was one." she murmured, sighing softly.

He watched her closely this was how he liked to get to know people by watching their reactions and mannerisms. "I have nothing against it either, I'm glad you see it that way. Not many agree with your point of view," he meowed, "Why did your mother leave?" he asked, curiously.

"Because she fell in love with a dumb rouge. He mated with her and left.." Nyx growled, her tail lashing irritably at the thought of her father. After calming down a little, she continued. "She stayed in the forest and gave birth to me and my brothers, Lividum and Mir. We went our separate ways after we were a year old." she hissed, trying to contain her anger.

He leaned against her attempting to comfort her, "I'm sorry, it wasn't my place to ask and I didn't mean to strike a nerve." he meowed honestly apologetic. He leaped over a fallen branch.

Nyx shook her head, her muscles coiling and she thrust herself forward to leap over the fallen branch. She landed with a thud next to her and sighed. "No.. it's alright.." she mumbled, smiling. She hid her anger, just right quick. Being in the presence of him made her feel.. calm. She leaned against him and closed her pale blue eyes.

A soft purr trilled in his throat for a moment, he enjoyed the feeling of her against his side. "So you live out here in this glorious winter wonderland." he laced the last three words with sarcasm again. He acted as though he hated the outside world but he really didn't mind it.

The black she-cat laughed lightly and nodded. "Yes, I live in an abandoned badger's set." she mewed, her small chuckles turning into low purrs. Her tail swished happily and accidentally brushing against the tom's tail as well. She tensed slightly and cleared her throat, feeling her pelt grow hot. Well at least she was beginning to be warm from the nipping cold.

He pretended not to notice her embarrassment. He laughed lightly, "Well that sounds like a wonderful home." he meowed, "I don't have any interesting stories about my family or my home." he shrugged. "Kittypets for generations." he laughed light then turned and looked at her meeting her gaze for a moment. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you have some of the prettiest eyes." he meowed. He's words were honest and matter of fact, he continued to walk forward not feeling the cold quite so much.

Nyx smiled and dipped her head, her cheeks flaring up a swell. "Uh.. th-thanks.. it runs in my family.." she said quietly, grinning like an idiot. She looked away so that he wouldn't see her embarrassment.

Wind whistled through the treetops as they slapped leaves, sending them hurling off. The lakes and streams were icy cold, sending fish into hiding.

Thump thump thump..

Footsteps padded along dry earth blanketed with powdery snow, and 'Cling Clink Clink' went the unsteady jingle of a collar. Two eyes poked out of the brush frosted with snow. One was a wonderful shocking blue-green, whilst the other was a stormy gray. One by one, small paws stepped out. Rimmed with neon blue, black trailed up from there on, until an etch of white was placed upon the middle. Thin stripes of white exited from that, circling upwards and stopping at the end of her leg. Pitch black takes over, with scorches of neon blue. Her tail is half red, and the other is a neon green. Red charges up, taking over the tail tip of her thin tail. Her ears are yellow, and a scar carries down from her jaw to her stomach, creating lines of patched up scars. Her face isn't exactly..black. Just a little. Her jaws are white, and her eyes are surrounded in neon green. Her ears had hoops in them; two on the right three on the left. How she got all these.. colorful.. markings? Simple. One day, she was carelessly wondering the streets of the kittypet place, youngish, not looking for a fight. It was late at night-who'd be out, right? Warm naked paws wrapped around her body, though they were abnormally large, and unlike anything she felt before. She had whimpered, and she was brought inside a dimly lit area. By sun-high, she was thrown out and far too colorful for her liking. She now refers to Two-legs as, 'Walking Demons.' She cringes when people say their name. Her name was simple, Perfected Colors. And you could say she was shy at first, happy when known. Her heart is wrapped securely with thistles and thorns, and she only lets those whom she trusts enter. Let's see how you do.

It was dark. It was cold. The forest surrounding the feline was dead, the trees like nothing more than frail skeletons. And Shadowbear was scared. His triangular ears pressed back as he made his way between the trunks of the trees. Then, the sound of a distant voice caused the tom to turn, taking a step in that direction. "Hello?" he called. The voice offered a response, but he could tell what it was. Curious, he padded forwards. Then, suddenly the ground in front of his paws vanished into a deep black pit. Flailing wildly, Shadowbear plummeted downwards, farther and farther until wham! He smashed against the ground with such force his legs gave way beneath him. Somehow, they weren't broken, and he was able to haul himself to his paws again, coughing from the fall. The sight he was met with when he looked up caused his heart to stop in his chest. There was Dappledshade's mangled body, blood still flowing from the deep gouges in her flesh. She had her back to him, but that did nothing to soften the blow of the sight. He hung his head, eyes closing as he willed it to go away. "What's wrong Shadowbear?" His sister's voice caused the toms' eyes to peel open, hope sparking to life in his chest. That hope was snuffed out by renewed terror when he saw her again. The she-cats' head had snapped completely the wrong way, glazed eyes open and staring at him. Her mouth was torn at the corners, making her look like she was smiling sickly. Then, she was lifted to her paws, as if by some puppet master. She turned to face him with jerky motions, her head straightening out as she did so. "Shadowbear?" she asked again. The tom was shaking at the gruesome sight, taking a step back. Then he felt claws rake down his side deeply enough to scrape his ribs. He didn't even have time to cry out in pain before his throat was clawed open. Shadowbear fell to his belly, blinking his eyes upwards. He was met with the sight of the battle-scarred tom who had killed his mother standing over him with blood soaking his fur. The attacker's bad eye was opened wide, an empty socket staring down at him... Shadowbear sat bolt upright, tears rolling down his cheeks. But he didn't scream. He couldn't. After years of night terrors, his body no longer allowed him that luxury. Not even noticing Crimson Ribbon wasn't there, he bolted from the den. He ran blindly without considering once the possibility of falling. Luckily he didn't. He ran and ran, stopping only once he felt icy water around his ankles. Then his yellow eyes returned to the present and seemed to register what was going on. Heaving a sigh he plopped himself down in the water, not caring enough to move to the bank.

Crimson Ribbon trotted along, bouncing from stone to stone with the weight of a mouse and a water vole holding her down. She padded up to the den, poking her head into the cave. She froze and frowned deeply, prey dropping to the ground. "Bear?" She called out. Panic set her heart fluttering in her chest as her crimson gaze began to frantically search for her mate. "Shadowbear?!" The female called even louder, turning and searching the ground for prints. There was so many... From their comings and goings... it was hard to tell which ones were fresh and which ones were old.

The sound of a distant voice reached him, but the words were too distorted to make out with so much space between them. Wondering who it was, the tom turned his paws in that direction. Then the vision of the first part of his nightmare flashed through his mind. A distant voice and then a fall leading into his own personal hell. No thanks. Curling his lip up in the beginnings of a snarl the tom turned away, clearing the distance between himself and the bank of the creek with a powerful leap. Once on the opposite bank he slunk into a shadow cast by a large boulder, crouching down. His black pelt hid him almost perfectly from sight. The only thing sticking out about him were his golden optics. He kept his muscles tensed, prepared to attack if a threat approached.

"Shadowbear!" She called as she took off towards the stream. She leaped over boulders with surprising speed and Crimson Ribbon began to have a panic attack, not noticing the shadow gliding over her panicking form as she ran. "Shadow! Shadowbear!" She yowled.

As his mate got closer and closer, Shadowbear began to recognize the voice. Then he recognized his name being called. "Crimson Ribbon?" he called back. His own voice was slightly shaky, cracked by emotion. He straightened up, taking a step forwards. Then fear crept into the back of his mind again and he returned to crouching. "Where are you?"

"Bear!" She tripped over herself and landed face-first in the freezing water. Her long, thick fur was soaked and she noticed the large bird of prey right then. There was an ear-shattering screech and the female only saw the talons racing for her. A blood-curdling yowl sounded from Crimson Ribbon as she rolled away.

He got fully to his paws the instant he saw his mate fall into the stream. Then the owl made a dive for her. Letting out a snarl, Shadowbear charged forwards, springing at the raptor. It was low enough that he was able to make contact. His needle-like fangs pierced the flesh of the bird's foot, his claws bit into the skin on it's leg. It was a stupid thing to do, but that didn't seem to cross his mind. The tom clung to the talon of the owl, biting harder and harder with each passing second.

"Bear!" She yelped, eyes widening in surprise. He had given her the chance she needed and she jumped to her paws. Her claws were out and she threw herself forward, claws embedding into the owl's chest feathers. The owl screamed again, flapping it's wings as it tried getting away.

He released his grip on the owl's foot. One front paw unlatched from it's grip, digging in again after a moment in a higher spot. Then he did the same thing with the other front leg. In this manner his climbed up the bird's side, struggling not to get hit by flailing wings. Then he hauled himself up onto the back of the bird. Once up there he found himself clinging with all claws extended down into flesh, hoping he didn't fall.

She dug her claws deeper into the owl's chest, neck stretching forward so her teeth could clamp into it's neck. The Owl was struggling now, flight faltering as it began to lower into the water once more.

After a moment had passed, the tom made his way up along the back of the owl. He paused once his front paws reached the bird's shoulders. His claws pierced through the skin and he pulled his weight up, teeth biting into the nape of it's neck while his mate bit the front of it.

The owl went down with more panicked screeched. Crimson Ribbon found she now had a pounding headache but didn't care for she really began working on ripping the birds' chest and belly to shreds, weaving to avoid the owl's talons. She twisted too early once and got a talon to the hind leg for her mistake. The pain only fueling her furious strikes though she couldn't hold much weight on that leg.

A soft gray pelt appeared through the trees, growing closer and closer. A small she-cat was approaching, her paws- the front ones black, the back ones white- treading gently through the underbrush. Her wide blue eyes searched for familiar life as she stopped at the very edge of the clearing, watching, waiting, listening.

Bright aquatic blue eyes appeared in the shadows as a bulky shape crouched between a tree and a bush, watching the clearing for any possible threats as the feline considered going further then the tree-line. In the end, the tom decided to risk it and rose to his paws, padding into the moonlight. The first thing anyone ever noticed what the diamond-shaped marking on his forehead. It was snow-white thus it stood out even brighter in the moonlight. He was a brown-furred tom with a white jaw, neck, chest, underbelly and under tail. He had a black 'mask' across his face with a matching black stripe coming from each corner of the mask to run across his face, down the sides of his neck, across his shoulders, flanks and haunches to end at his black tail. He also had a black dorsal stripe running from the top corner of the diamond and running down his spine to his tail. He had black 'leggings' though his toes remained mud-brown along with the rest of his pelt. The tom's brown ears perked and swiveled nervously as he tread lightly as if expecting a cat to burst out of the snow to attack him. Stolen Diamond, as was the tom's name, looked unsure of himself like he wasn't comfortable in his own body and looked even more unsure about his whereabouts. In the end, he sat and curled his fluffy black and white tail around his large paws and waited to see if anyone would show up.

The grassy ferns swayed with the wind as a brown rabbit nibbled on a sparse leaf. The slight creature threw it down, apparently deciding that it wasn't up to standards. Suddenly, with his white-tipped ears shooting up like he were in some cartoon, the rabbit eyed the feline figures of two cats racing in the distance. The lead cat was gaining speed while the other slowed somewhat. The rabbit shook his head in exasperation. They were all the same...cats...Never looking more than two tail-lengths in front of their over-sized muzzles. Clearly they hadn't realized the sudden drop due to the canyon that was smack-dab in the middle of nowhere. For RabbitFur's Sake! Even leverets knew never to cross the barrier made by the "No Cross" trees, unless they want to fall endlessly into the "Cavern of Mistakes".

A wail pierced the air as one cat fell in. The rabbit, glad that one of the monstrosities was through with, only hoped for the remaining cat to follow.

Elusivedream hung on to slab of crumbling earth with her claw hooked unstably in place. Her eyes widened in fear as her mouth stretched for a wail to reach her faraway companion. Surely this would prove that he was to be trusted? He would pull her up and she would thank him for eternity...but if he didn't...She pushed it away, letting her voice creep through her throat, feeling her vocal cords straining to howled the plead.

"HOLLOWGAZE! HELP!"


	7. TwistedSoul Pause Promise

"I guess this may be goodbye.. I'll see you tomorrow? Maybe.. I might be around.." Nyx meowed quietly, giving his cheek a lick before she turned around to leave. Her tail drooped, but her head held high.

He watched her turn away and started back they way they had come, "Nyx," he called trotting over to her, "I'd really like to see you tomorrow, if you aren't busy i mean" He stood in front of her, waiting for a reply, his dark green eyes had a spark of excitement in them.

Nyx smiled and nodded. "I'd like that. Follow my scent and you may find me.." she whispered, rubbing her nose to his chest before passing him and waving her tail good-bye.

He grinned watching her go, drawing her scent in and committing it to memory. "I'll certainly do that" he murmured watching her dark shape disappear into the night. He sighed before turning and leaping up to the top of the fence and disappearing into his den.

The sun shone his in the sky, but a cool chill hung in the air. Two dark green eyes appeared in the window of a twoleg den, they looked mildly annoyed, it was sun high and he was still stuck in his two leg den. and to make it worse Ayanna was nagging left and right. He padded into the kitchen and began meowing loudly, before long his cries were answered and the door was opened. he dashed across the porch and up onto the fence. He sat on the top of the fence for a few moments, thinking.

...Perfected trotted in, her multi-toned gaze drifting across the tree branches blanketed with snow. She began to think about Sting, and how he was managing. She never thought about toms, then again she didn't know many. A reed whacked her in the face, and she jumped back, startled, and hissed, unsheathing her claws. Realizing what it was, she dipped her head, embarrassed, and sat next to it, hoping no one saw.

Sting slid into the forest. He was hungry, and needed to practice land prey hunting some more. The Tom blinked as he saw his friend and made his way over. If he had noticed her little mishap, he gave off no indication that he did. Smiling fairly in greeting, he dipped his head and mewed a quick, " Good afternoon!"

"Stop being mature." were the first words that slipped her notice. "But you too, I guess." she added quickly. With a smile, she looked down at the melting river. Fish began to appear. Perfected decided to chance it. She crouched just far enough so her shadow didn't cast over the water. Within a flash, a fish was brought to the surface and killed. She looked at him. "Want some?" her paw was slightly numb now from the frigid water.

"I shouldn't," he mewed sadly, looking at the water. "There's not nearly as much fishing area here as back in RiverClan, so I must learn how to no longer depend on just fish. Once I can hunt land prey consistently, I'll eat fish again." As to her first comment he smiled and replied teasingly, "Stop being mature? Whatever could you mean by that? I was merely saying hello..."

"Well..." she began a protest but trailed off. "Meep." she stated in a monotone voice. "Suit yourself!" Perfected suddenly changed the subject as she began devouring the fish. Salmon. her taste buds told her matter-of-factly and she nodded once the fish was gone. With a smile, the vibrant feline looked at Sting. "Whatcha been up to? Any-" she put emphasis on the following words-"'Lady friends?'" Perfected wriggled her kitty-brows suggestively.

Sting flinched. "No," me managed to choke out. Otterheart. he missed her. Every living breath was a reminder of her. Of what he had done. How he knew he didn't deserve her, and that it was best for both of them that they never saw each other again. Suddenly he wasn't hungry anymore. Did she miss him, or at least the cat he used to be? He missed the way it used to be, but those were silly and naive times, he couldn't return there.

Dust flew in the air, covering everything in it's path with it's gritty sand. In its path stood a lone silhouette. The outline of ears against the black of this peculiar storm steaming towards the first person point of view. A shriek pronounced itself clearly in the ears of the mysterious feline, it visibly flinched, pinning its ears against its skull. Every inch it its bodice was on fire, and a fierce glow of blue beamed out in the pure, unnatural darkness of the dust storm. All around it, sand. Finally it launched itself at the first person point of view, inches before it struck the face of whatever it was stalking, everything froze. It was merely a nightmare. A horrible, filthy, scary nightmare. Belonging to the only possible warrior, Twistedsoul. A wicked smile produced itself on his maw, as a strange light wafted over the bottom half of his face. His eyes shot open and fierce blue eyes were produced from his eye sockets. Getting up he arched his back, and slowly began cleansing himself, his pelt clear now. He was lithe, extremely skinny, almost gaunt. Anyone would possibly think him anorexic if not to know better. He was orange, white streaks flowing throughout his body like electric. His blue eyes were watery, artificial-like, but one hundred percent real. This is Twistedsoul, and anyone would rather be caught dead than dealing with him.

Hollowgaze stared at the tuft of fur which was his fallen companion...literally. Elusivedream, however, was not in the mood to be gazed at in such an implorable fashion. "WHY ARE YOU WAITING? HELP ME!"

Elusivedream looked up, wondering what could possibly be happening. The tom was standing stock-still, as if having a fierce grudge-match, hidden from his feline counter-part. "Erm..right..." he mumbled, shifting forwards and grabbing her paw, pulling her up slowly as he tried to find footing on the slippery grass fronds. Sinking his teeth gently into her scruff, Hollowgaze pulled her up, then flopped over.

His fur was shining in the dewlight, half-closed eyes and his breath faintly outlined in mist in the chill. He looked oddly like- _A savior.._Elusivedream mused, staring at Hollowgaze in a whole new light, forgetting his previous pause in her rescue. Funny how your judgment can change so drastically after someone saves you. Or did they? The near future is a faint horizon with a fog covering the distance between you, the shadowy uncertainty looms overhead with untold and unforeseen tragedies one might say.

"Thank you, Hollowgaze." she murmured softly. "I don't know how I'll ever repay you...I promise that I'll save YOU one day, no matter the circumstances."

Hollowgaze's mouth curved in a grin. "Elusive...one thing you can do for me." he began, the honey-gold of his eyes shown slightly, "Is to pretend that you like me, and I'll do the same...I'm getting tired of all the stares and groups I'm pushed in..." Elusivedream blinked, was that it? That wasn't a problem, she didn't even have to act...

"Okay, I owe you that at least." she whispered, her soft voice carried by the wind. At first, Hollowgaze didn't realize what she said.

_"Okay...I owe you that at least..."_ A cats voice drifted over to the rabbit. He frowned, he thought the cliff had taken care of them, he sighed and hopped away.

_Okay...I owe you that at least...Girl, you ain't EVER gonna know how wrong you were to say that._


	8. Reinforcement and a Slip

She dug her claws deeper into the owl's chest, neck stretching forward so her teeth could clamp into it's neck. The Owl was struggling now, flight faltering as it began to lower into the water once more.

After a moment had passed, the tom made his way up along the back of the owl. He paused once his front paws reached the bird's shoulders. His claws pierced through the skin and he pulled his weight up, teeth biting into the nape of it's neck while his mate bit the front of it.

The owl went down with more panicked screeched. Crimson Ribbon found she now had a pounding headache but didn't care for she really began working on ripping the birds' chest adn belly to shreds, weaving to avoid the owl's talons. She twisted too early once and got a talon to the hind leg for her mistake. The pain only fueling her furious strikes though she couldn't hold much weight on that leg.

A soft gray pelt appeared through the trees, growing closer and closer. A small she-cat was approaching, her paws- the front ones black, the back ones white- treading gently through the underbrush. Her wide blue eyes searched for familiar life as she stopped at the very edge of the clearing, watching, waiting, listening.

Bright aquatic blue eyes appeared in the shadows as a bulky shape crouched between a tree and a bush, watching the clearing for any possible threats as the feline considered going further then the tree-line. In the end, the tom decided to risk it and rose to his paws, padding into the moonlight. The first thing anyone ever noticed what the diamond-shaped marking on his forehead. It was snow-white thus it stood out even brighter in the moonlight. He was a brown-furred tom with a white jaw, neck, chest, underbelly and under tail. He had a black 'mask' across his face with a matching black stripe coming from each corner of the mask to run across his face, down the sides of his neck, across his shoulders, flanks and haunches to end at his black tail. He also had a black dorsal stripe running from the top corner of the diamond and running down his spine to his tail. He had black 'leggings' though his toes remained mud-brown along with the rest of his pelt. The tom's brown ears perked and swiveled nervously as he tread lightly as if expecting a cat to burst out of the snow to attack him. Stolen Diamond, as was the tom's name, looked unsure of himself like he wasn't comfortable in his own body and looked even more unsure about his whereabouts. In the end, he sat and curled his fluffy black and white tail around his large paws and waited to see if anyone would show up.

Roaringpaw nudged his way into the clearing, green eyes darting around nervously. He'd come to find his father, Salamanderspots; Cloverface was under punishment, so he didn't really want to talk to her. She seemed.. agitated under the circumstances. The apprentice stared around wearily, his stomach tingling with a sense of dread. He didn't want to run into any Riverclan cats, not since he'd killed that elder. He really hadn't meant to go so far, but the praise his father had given him had been.. tempting. Roaringpaw slowly sat down, haunches sinking into the cold snow as a tawny ear flicked, his neck craning to allow his dark red tongue to rasp over a dark brown and tawny-splotched pelt. Nearly the mirror image of his father, though he didn't have an ugly burn over one side of his body. Straightening again, the Shadowclan apprentice waited calmly, tail stirring the snowflakes in an acute sense of boredom.

A rather fluffy though tabby smoke colored she cat maneuvered her way into the clearing. Her dark green eyes flickered as her thick bushy tail dragged behind her on the dirty and snowy ground. She let out a soft mewl as she slowly padded across the area, her ears erect in case of any unknown dangers. Despite the fact that she, herself had once been a threat, she had grown so custom to the clan that she sometimes forgot that she was once a loner. The beautiful she cat found a secluded spot from the others to lie at and there she rested her fuzzy chin on her soft paws. She was about to close her eyes when she spotted a young tom that appeared to be around her own age.

A tri-colored form brushed his way into the clearing, pulling through the line of trees in a determined march to escape the grasses and such that seemed to coil around his paws and beckon him to remain under the cover of the plant life. The russet cat had an underside lined in a lighter color, cream, that also splashed around his muzzle before dribbling downwards. This creamy hue could also be noted encasing three of his four paws. Finally, a burnt russet flooded his ears and traced down the feline's vertebrae, continuing on to encase the entirety of his sweeping tail. Glimmering eyes of a sapphire pigmentation swept around the clearing, seeking out anything that may have been a threat to him. There didn't seem to be any prickly clan cats or malevolent rogues, so he stepped out with a shake of his fur. Paws tracing across the snow the loner trotted along under the guidance of the setting sun. The warm colors flushed the ground, making the snow seem less threatening that it could have been. Gambit, as he was so called, parted his maw in a yawn whilst his optics sketched across the clearing for anything that could have been considered interesting enough to keep him here.

A pure white she-cat with black splotches padded into the clearing, the moonlight shimmering on her pelt. They were just recently made apprentices, and it excited them. But this, it was her sister's idea and it angered her, as usual. Glancing around, her green eyes blazing in the dim light. They always had some sort of flare in them, but never super flames. That is when she got mad. Just in case, this she-cat unsheathed her claws and dug them into the ground, letting out a more of a silent hiss in the process. She pricked her ears, her whiskers twitching. She got the super sensitive hearing from her mum. The clan looked at their family as if they were scum. She didn't know why. There was this one cat though... Goldblaze. She was warned to STAY AWAY, which it angered her even more than usual. Though she didn't see a reason why, she was a nice she-cat. Maybe her mum was just over re-acting. Turning around towards her sister, she peeled back her lips in a surprisingly low snarl, "Remind me why we are here again?"

Pale blond fur. The color of sun stained snow. It coated the creature, from the base of its tail all the way up to its neck, where alabaster white emerged. The tail was a dark russet, from which he got his name. Sparkling emerald eyes blinked, slowly opening like hatching chicks. This was Redstone. Padding out from the shadows, Redstone let the dim sun dapple his pelt and cast long shadows on the ground. "Hello?" He called out. "Is anyone here?"

Elusivedream and Hollowgaze padded in the camp, their pelts brushing slightly as they headed over to the Fresh-Kill Pile. Cats turned as they passed, whispers sounding like yells in the quiet setting of ParadoxClan.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, heard them myself.."

"No way, they can't!"

"Yes way!"

"Oh Shuddup!"

"Here they come! Go on! Ask!"

Elusivedream's ears burned with embarrassment as she and her newest friend ate their respective mice. Soft footsteps fell in an hesitant way, announcing the arrival of Hollowgaze's little packmate. Frailheart stood right infront of them, slightly shaking and yet a cold glint in her usually soft eyes. "Hollowgaze...are you and..._her._" she flicked her tail sharply at Elusivedream. "Friends?"

Hollowgaze calmly finished his mouse, licked his lips, and stretched before answering her. He stood up, tall and like an admirable hero. "Yeah, we are, mate. Now," he said, his voice steely and light. "You, luv, are going to treat her with respect. With friendliness like a sister, and, you ain't gonna mess with her. Mess with her, an' you mess with me." he growled, then returned to his joyful voice. "Alright? Thanks, now, if you'll excuse us, me and my new pal have some things to discuss with our favorite leader!"

Elusivedream couldn't fathom how Frailheart got the expression she had on her face, but either way, it was hilarious. As she got up and fell into step beside Hollowgaze, he whispered. "You like that, huh?" he grinned when she nodded, smiling slightly. "Well, there's a LOT more where that came from..."

She grinned as Hollowgaze trotted into the Leader's Den like some kind of spy, peeking in, the motioning her to follow with his tail. "Lucy, I'm hOOme!" he announced, as Torrentstar, shocked from his sudden outburst, leaped into the air. Hollowgaze stuffed his paw on her mouth as Elusivedream choked out laughter.

"By StarClan Hollowgaze! you nearly made me lose a life!" Torrentstar exclaimed, fussily brushing his tail on the patch of ground in front of him. _Was that a battle plan or message...?_

"My humblest apologies, my Liege, but I have grown concern with your treatment of she-cats." he started, then started speaking. "I have a dream...That one day! All cats will live in harmony. I have a dream! That no matter what gender, all cats will be allowed to fight and hunt! with the exception of kittypets, never liked them..I have a dream, that my leader will listen to my words and take them into consideration! I hav-" Torrentstar cut off Hollowgaze's speech.

Hurt, Hollowgaze poked out his tongue as Torrentstar turned around. "I will think on it, please, for now, leave me."

Hollowgaze put on a serious face. "I'll be back." then made faces at Torrentstar and rushed out with Elusivedream following.

"Hollowgaze, I'm glad I know you!" Elusivedream laughed as they sat down in the shade of a tree, "You have GOT to be the funniest cat I've met!"

Hollowgaze bowed deeply, "Anything to please you," he stated in a deep voice, then grinned. "Probably the only cat you'll ever meet!"

Elusivedream stopped laughing. _What? What...did he mean by that...?_ Apparently, there was more to this feline fiend than meets the eye. Or was it just a poor choice of words? Pushing it aside, she laid back.

...In the depths of Time, all can be done and all can be undone. Elusivedream would perhaps undo this moment in hopes of lightening her future, Hollowgaze however, might choose to replay this moment again and again for his own amusement...or would he also change it? Would he go all the way back to their first meeting and change what he had said?


	9. Mother Gangster

Perfected Colors stalked through the desolate alleyways of the Two-Leg territory, itching to claw their faces given the chance. Completely enveloped in her thoughts of massacring the Demons, she didn't realize a she-cat walking up to her.

"Please, you must help me..." she murmured to the multi-colored gangster cat, her breathing ragged and her legs unstable.

Perfected Colors swung around, eyeing this strange cat. She was thin and her fur hung in clumps, dull eyes signaled fever. "What?" she said blandly, never one for much talk.

The cat responded, "I-I'm Nyx..." -Perfected rolled her eyes, what had she asked her?- "My kit, is dying, please, help her...I can't take care of her." she revealed a small grey, silver, and black she-kit shuddering in the warmth, frail and weak.

Perfected looked from the kit to Nyx. "I'm not the mother type." she stated, but Nyx wasn't listening. "When she gets better, name her...Elusivekit." she left the kit and staggered away. _Elusive huh? Nice name._ Perfected thought as she carried the kit to her nesting place, still unsure as to whether she should leave the kit to die or not.


	10. Hollowgaze and Clan Order

Narrowed emerald optics, their vibrant color faded and worn with the ice of discontent, scoured the ParadoxClan clearing and all creatures that inhabited it. It seemed that this one was never pleased with the way things were going, and today there was little change. Snow did not make for very good hunting, even for someone with a certain proclivity for it. The cold left ice on his pelt and freckled it with white, a tint he abhorred to no end. Bland and boring...so easily stained. The spindly yet powerful tom took pride in the starless night he possessed for a coloring, marred only by licks of flame.

He crouched in the Warrior's den, whip like tail lashing behind him for no readily apparent reason. Perpetually unsheathed claws, rendered wickedly sharp, clicked against the stones that littered the forest floor with a tickity tockity, wickity wockity sound as he pawed the ground restlessly. Hollowgaze gave a small sigh, bored out of his mind. He'd done his duties for the day, before dawn, same as always.

Past known by no one of this species, or any species. Long, matted, golden fur, poised him, while the power to lose did not. The cold breeze, made him shiver, as it blew his long fur the wrong way. He had big amber eyes, full of knowledge and strength. He yes, did have a family. One of which was growing by every week. His mate, the one known as Spottedwind, he cared for very much. Under his coat, his large and very useful muscles were hidden, but they were not very hidden. His massive paws thudded the ground, as he padded into the den, meant for warriors. His coat, so long around his neck, made it seem that he had a mane, which he pretty much did. He was one of the biggest cats in ThunderClan. He was very good in battle, but not much in hunting. This golden giant, is known as Lionfrost.

Hollowgaze's narrowed eyes, piercing in both pigment and ferocity, trained onto the form of Lionfrost-one of the biggest oafs in the Clan. He held a certain resentment towards the hugely muscled cats of ParadoxClan-mostly because they were idiots. Who needs to have strategy when you've got tons of power? Ugh. Hollowgaze wasn't bulky-in fact he was rather thin in the ways of build-but he was tall. He stood over many of the cats he came across, leering down at them in that arrogant way of his. This time was no different. The darkened cat wrinkled his nose at Lionfrost as he passed, and laughed mockingly.

The golden tom, stopped dead. He looked in the corner of his eye's to the fool known as Hollowgaze. The giant turned his big body to face the mouse-brain. He could see how tall and nimble the tom was, but that had no affect on him what so ever. "Excuse me, did you have something to say little brother? If you do, I'd like to know." he said calmly, trying to be the bigger cat as one might say.

Hollowgaze stared down at his older brother, perhaps it was just him, but he hated everything about his "counter-part". Lionfrost was the exact opposite of the dark cat, and Hollowgaze despised him for that.

Elusivedream curled up in her nest, very much aware of the stares she was being treated to by her clanmates. The lie of her and Hollowgaze becoming...friends to put it lightly, had permeated throughout the forest like greencough. She wasn't looking forward to this moons Gathering. She sighed and rolled over, sifting through the days events until she found one that didn't relate to her in any way. Lionfrost, ParadoxClan's deputy, had died earlier this very day. Attacked by a sudden spasm their medic-cat called, "Stone Heart", the brave deputy died, his last words echoed through her head. "_-Should be the next deputy, you know...as well as I do Torrentstar...the clan needs a cat like that." _

She tossed again, earning herself an agitated mew from Frailheart. Who could Lionfrost be talking about? Hollowgaze? Badgerclaw? So many names whirled through her mind until she found herself becoming dizzy.

"All cats gather below the Stone Hedge for a clan meeting!"

The call rang loud and clear through the early night air. It was just beginning to get dark, so why had Torrentstar called them so late? Elusivedream suddenly realized, her father had not discluded that kits, who were to young to be outside. She and the rest of the warriors erupted from the den with mews of protest, but they were silenced by a flick of the leaders tail.

"I have decided, who will be the next deputy." He stated, letting it sink in.

"About time too, he was supposed to do it _ages_ ago." said a voice close to her ear. Elusivedream turned to see Hollowgaze, his eyes glinting slightly. She focused her attention back to her father.

"A death in a clan brings with it new life. And new life means changes. So, by the death wish of Lionfrost and _my_ improvement-" Hollowgaze rolled his eyes, "Just HAD to ruin it didn't you?"- "The new deputy will be...Elusivedream."

"...What did you just say? I think I misunderstood." Elusivedream said, all eyes turning to her, apparently waiting for something. "Oh, you're not joking...are you..." _Great...Just GREAT._


	11. Thoughts of Caticide

As the sun slowly settled below the horizon, a lithe frame was revealed. Beautiful lime-green orbs were set in her sockets, as eyes, and her body was a créme-ish color. Lighter gray shielded her eyes, whilst bangs fell gently over her left eye. Her ears were angled to arch at the sky, medium height. Bands crossed her back hind legs, and her chest. They carried to the top of her front legs, right at the shoulders. Her back left hind leg had a chain, spray-painted light blue, black, and neon green. Tan carried from her back, tracing her spine and stopping where her tail ended. Her legs were gray, besides the paws-no no, those were creme- stopping where they ended. Her ears were nicked, and claw marks danced upon her legs. They carried on like a breeze on her sides, neck, and chest, and believe me, they were not battle scars. They were from her abusive brother, who happened to be named Scar. But her name, it wasn't anything you could've heard before, unless someone told you about her. She was Perfected Colors. Something interesting about her is she communicates with chipmunks, and her best friend is one and called Steve. Yes ma'am. Her gaze shredded the clearing into pieces as she raked her gaze over the chilled land, at last her ears caught a noise. With an excited look, she bounded forward. She leaned back onto her hindquarters as she stalked a vole, valuable in this time, and pressed forward slowly. At last, she had a piece of prey she was devouring. She rose, after disposing of the carcass, and she licked her lips as she trailed her gaze over the achromatic land. Her vision immediately connected to the frail kit, who had been feeling better ever since she got the natural medicine she needed. Elusivekit, and odd name for a kit who looked so enthusiastic despite her weakness. She couldn't help but purr as the maturing kit stumbled across a mouse and started growling at it, and, the mouse who was a bit bull-headed, gazed back at her as if she were demented.

"Look, this is how you do it," She eased gently, demonstrating a Hunters' Crouch and disposing of the ignorant mouse quickly. She set the creature down at Elusivekit's feet. "Eat it, its better than it looks."

Elusivekit eyed it, then decided she trusted Perfected Colors and munched it happily. She started to purr. Perfected was surprised, ever since she had gotten the lonely kit from her true mother, Nyx, she hadn't said a word, nevertheless a sound. She smiled, this was a good omen.

_Me...ME of all CATS! Why me? What'd I ever do to you StarClan?! If its about wishing I could tear out Hollowgaze's throat, I already made up for that! So why? WHY'D YA LET TORRENTSTAR MAKE ME THE DEPUTY!_ Elusivedream paced around the Warrior's Den, muttering incoherently and cursing. Hollowgaze looked at her from his nest, highly amused. "Huh, I thought it was a great honor to become a deputy, guess not."

"Oh shut up, I rather go jump in a lake than be deputy." She suddenly got a manic gleam in her eye. "You wanna kill me so you can be deputy? You'd be better."

Hollowgaze laughed. "I thought you'd know by now I'm not a killer." _Technically false. _"Besides, if Torrentstar thought i would be better than you, he would've chosen me. _And I can only imagine what prevented him from doing just that._

"Can I go jump off that cliff again?" She ranted on, hyperventilating a bit, her pacing increased, making Hollowgaze's head spin.

Getting out of his rest, he firmly shoved Elusivedream into her nest. "Okay, NO ONE is going to kill anybody or commit caticide (suicide). Got that?"

"Yes sir."

"No go march those deputy haunches out and see Torrentstar."

"Whatever."

Stomping off towards the Leader's Den, Elusivedream started muttering and moaning again about how she wished she were a rogue or a loner or perhaps a-

The trees whispered as the squirrels raced across their branches, making cackling and tittering noises.

_So irresponsible._

_Yes, it might have been better the other way._

_Maybe, maybe not._

_Surely anything would b- MY WORD! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!_

A silver, black, and grey cat scampered across the tree roots, the hooked claws sinking into them, marking its path. Something was familiar about this feline figure, maybe it was the manic gleam in her eye? Or perhaps the spray-painted chain on her hindpaw, a passed down emblem, from her mother.

Kittypet? No never a soft-pelted-no-good-excuse-for-a-cat-pet. Then perhaps..Torrentstars den loomed in front of her, a few pawsteps away, and then she leaned sideways and suddenly bolted out of camp, a chain dangling from her hindpaw.


	12. Colors and Hate

First thing you notice may be the unusual shine of the sun. But you really should notice the blue-grey shape. Coming right at you. I'd run, but nope. Don't worry; she's after that rabbit over there. The plump one, yes. -Aqua pounced on it, snapping the spine instantly. The graceful feline settled down and began devouring the meal. Her crystal hues shone happily with contentment, and her jaws ripped into the flesh. A couple times she swallowed a small bone, but she ignored the spike-like feel slipping down her throat. Her silver rimmed paws shuffled on the ground as the sun blared down onto her, making her sleek blue pelt shine. Dewdrops littered the small feminine, but she ignored that as well. The flecks of silver on her pelt were magnified by the dew. She wasn't watching around her; she was content on eating this lucky meal. Her crazy optics scanned around, but they soon focused back on the distorted rabbit. This was Aqua. Her silver tipped tail swayed gracefully behind her. Aqua's metallic lined and tipped ears twitched upon finishing the meal. The plush raccoon hugging her tail clung on, and it's name was Sir Spinnytail. Aqua and Sir Spinnytail were buddies. It was about the only thing she had. Barely any friends. Friends; but she hadn't seen them. Friends; that she doesn't remember due to the long time gap. She's now starting fresh; leaving toms and she-cats behind (besides Riot and Terezi) and starting with a new. A new Aqua.

Thump, thump, thump. Paws pranced over the earth in a clumsy yet bouncy manner, growing faintly louder as their owner drew nearer. Emerging from the nursery was a minuscule figure, nearly an apprentice and ready to explore. What with feminine features, it was quite easy to tell this was a female, with a cylindrical waist and fairly lengthy limbs that would only grow longer as she aged. A bright cinnamon colored coat wrapped delicately around her body, quite plush due to youth but sleek all the same against her slender form. Her toes were graced an ivory chrome with bands of brown around her wrists; the tapered audits crowning her angular cranium tipped a darker shade. Spurting out of her rump being an almost-ridiculously fluffy tail, thick chocolate rings striping around its length whilst the tip was coated white. Who could dismiss such brilliant aquatic blue oculars, curiosity and excitement crashing within their depths like tidal waves? None if they were to be captured by such an intense stare. But beware, for this kit's attention can only be held for so long before she let's go, her round obsidian pupils rolling across her irises to settle on something else. Lying underneath sky blue lamps are a trio of dark sorrel, identical yet peculiar dots, adding a feral touch to her facade.

Perfected Colors sniffed around, the now older Elusivekit who was ready to become a paw, had begun to get out of hand. She always got into trouble, but Perfected always let her go. Why? No reason. Perfected didn't have one, maybe she never will. Besides that, the two had grown close, Perfected had already told Elusive, as she was called for short, about her biological mother. Elusive seemed not to care that her mother gave her up rather than stay with her and try to pull through, but Perfected knew better, that kind of pain never goes away.

"Why is the sky blue?" Elusive suddenly asked as Perfected washed her own pelt.

"Because it is." her adopted mother replied, though she was more like a sister or friend than a mother.

"Oh, then why is the grass green?"

"Cause all the other colors were taken."

Elusive genuinely believed her, finding wisdom in the obvious answers. "Hmm, that makes sense, well, where are we going now? Leaf-bare is coming..."

Perfected cursed whatever group of cats were in the sky, if there were any at that. Why did Elusivekit have to be so observant? Why couldn't she have dulled senses? _Because then she wouldn't have survived for as long as she has._ Sighing, she answered. "We will go deeper into the forest, perhaps take shelter with one of the clans residing in there in hope to out wit nature."

"You sound like a pervert." Elusivekit smirked, nudging Perfected Colors slightly.

Her companion sighed. _Teenagers..._"Yeah, well its better than being a fluff-for-brains." she countered.

Elusivekit laughed, and Perfected smiled, her laugh was like wind chimes in a faint breeze. She shook her head abruptly, no time for thinking, leaf-bare was chasing them, and it was only a matter of time before it engulfed them.

"Elusivedream?"

"Elusivedream?"

"Elusivedream?"

The grey, black, and silver feline buried herself deeper into the forest, barely hearing the wails of her father, Hollowgaze, and some of the few cats she ever talked to. _Or bothered to talk to._ she thought viciously. She pumped her legs more, increasing her speed to drastic measures. _I'm never going back. There are too many questions...lies...and Hollowgaze._ Its funny how you can like someone, but hate them at the same time...but have no explanation for it. But Elusivedream wasn't going to waste time on that, she wanted to find someone, to ease her flow of unanswered questions. Her mother.


	13. Lonesome

A dark figure moved across the den, winter was slipping away before her eyes and how she let it go, the cold, freezing temperatures gnawed at her fur like a tick, she couldn't wait until it was gone. Her paws tapped tirelessly on the ground, for she was just plain bored. The scars that raced through her fur were barely noticeable because the wind rushed into her pelt, blowing it over where the hairs would never grow back. She sighed softly, unsure of what to do with herself since she hasn't seen her crush or her best friend in days, and those were the only two she still had, everyone else left her so she was pretty much alone for a long while, her white paws slipped over the ground as she gave up looking for them and slipped inside, almost sliding down the entrance to her den before her paws hit the warmth of her blanket, she shivered slightly and shook out her pelt, for her fresh-kill pile was gone, left without a trace. The dark she-cat closed her eyes, her fur feeling awkward on her pelt, blown out of place by that measly wind. She collapsed on the ground, purely from boredom, with a thump. Her blue eyes drew to a close as she slowly gave up on life, and prayed for sleep to take her away into a better world, a dream. She knew, though, that she would never leave this world so easily, it was against her nature to give up, purely against her code of conduct; as she called it. Elusivepaw scowled, hating Perfected Colors' guts.


	14. Fathers Clans: wen can we gwo owutside?

She listened to him silently as he talked about his father and mother, herself learning more about him each time they met and she was always so...sad for him every time he told her more about her past. "I hope you don't mind me saying this...your father is a piece of foxdung for being such a...horrible, horrible thing." She said vehemently, not doubting he wouldn't agree with her and a few more curses which would be able to turn a few heads in her clan at such language but she said it anyways. "You're life sounds like its been really hard...I'm amazed you don't try and take a piece out of everyone you meet. For someone with as hard a past as you...you've turned out really well, if you don't mind my saying so." She told him truthfully, tone firm as she said so.

The tom couldn't help but to chuckle and nod in agreement in response to the she-cats words about his father. Whoever his father was, he was a rat. The kind of cat that Shadowbear had vowed from the time he was a mere four moons old that he would never be. When the insults totwards his father morphed into pity and compliments directed towards him, the tom could feel his ears warming slightly under the praise. Uncomfortable. He rolled his shoulders in a shrug. "It has been hard," he agreed, "but life always is. That's what makes living worthwhile though. If it were all happy go lucky all the time, there would be no purpose." He paused then, glancing away as he took a moment to collect his thoughts enough to response to the part about how she was surprised he didn't snap at every cat he met. "Its taken me most of my life to reach the place I'm at now. For a long time, I did try and tear a chunk from everyone I met. I blamed the lashing out on a crummy past without parents. I played the 'screwed up kit' card for a long time, and, all in all, I was a very hating cat. But after a while, you have to learn to take responsability for your own actions. I figured out that my past didn't have to be the thing that sculpted me..." he trailed off into another paused his gaze turning towards the ground in a slightly solemn expression, "...even so, I think Crimson Ribbon is a big part of what keeps me grounded."

Smiling at him as he chuckled, nodding his head in agreement to her rather...well harsh words on his father who was worthless and really shouldn't have been brought into this world at all. Listening to him talk and reason to her what had happened to him in the past and talked about what he had decided upon himself and how his life had changed by that line of thought...and mostly laying his thanks on the mate that he continued to talk about, the one she still wished to meet one day. She sounded like an amazing she-cat, at least the few times he had spoken of her he had made her sound as such. "It's a shame though that your life had to be particularly hard...but it looks like maybe fate is smiling down on you and Crimson Ribbon. You two are going to live happily together, and hopefully without too much trouble along the way...and you two are going to have beautiful kits that you'll both love and they'll love you back." She told him firmly, putting his future into a much brighter light in comparison to what his past had been like. Why not? He deserved to live a happier life than he had been living so far according to his past.

The Junkyard was as normal as always with the trash on the ground and plastic bags blowing around in the wind, the normal calm weather, and abandon cars all over the place. One abandon truck was located hidden close toward the entrance covering the area with snow making it hard to see. Mickey stumbled upon it while he was on his daily exploration. He wasn't paying attention and happened to walk straight into it. Tilting his head toward the side in confusion the feline just stared at the snowy surface for awhile. What.. Is under the snow? It is big.. And kind of.. Hard and.. Maybe one of those car things? Yeah like the one Crossroads lives under! I'm sure it isn't that one though. It isn't over here. Raising a paw he began to try and get some of the snow off of the side of the car. When he got a little off, he jumped up landing on the hood. The grey tom's ears flattened immediately when he felt his paws slipping off the surface. Squealing, the tom tried to scramble to the top trying to keep his grip. Mickey failed and rolled off the top of the truck landing next to it, face first in the snow. With a huff the feline squealed once more, flailing his paws about sending some snow flying in the air.

"Stupid snow.." He muttered going back onto all fours and plopping his rear down on the ground.

With a frown he started to pick out the little bits and pieces of snow out of his fur. Sneaking his tail around his paws, his ears stayed flat against his skull. Heh.. Snow. It's so slippery. I hate the coldness of it though.. Only if it was warmer. Then it would be pretty cool stuff. Chuckling at his own thought he picked his head up to look back at the car he fell off just a few short moments ago. He smiled purely amused at the way the snow fell off with him creating a figure falling off the roof of the car. It was a blurred figure and you couldn't tell what it was, but you could guess that it was made by someone falling off of it.

You know those weird days kittypets seem to wander from home, usually in the end getting killed? Yeah well- Cling cling cling. Perfect. A kittypet to interrupt my story. On with her, then.-A slim she-cat slipped in, unsure of her surroundings. She wrinkled her nose at the horrid smell lingering in the air, wanting to seemingly kill. Her eyes were a misty pool of blue-gray, enlightened in the slightest by small tints of lime-green right around the pupil. Her body was pitch black, and her legs were striped like a zebra's, though her paws were crimson. A collar around her neck, which was pelted with diamonds and some torn out by her sharp claws, showing vividly expressed hatred for the itchy leather. Just a thought of it would cause her to wrinkle her nose. On top of that, a red heart hung lifelessly from the center, the only uncovered area, engraved neatly with the words, Ribbon, gone over with gold ink to create a gold engrave. Mind you, don't let the pitiful name fool you in the least; she could kill if needed. But currently, she just wanted this god-forsaken collar OFF. Which is exactly why Ribbon came here. Don't ask why her owners named her Ribbon, since there was no visible ribbonish color even one with the keenest eyes could spot. She wasn't fat, or too skinny, not too nice but not mean. Sarcasm often laces her words, seeing as she was raised on the street by her sarcastic brother, that has now abandoned her. Ribbon was practically on her own now.

Chirpingbird awoke to a sharp pain in her stomach. She grumbled and glanced up, hardly able to see above her swollen abdomen. Her motherly instincts where telling her something was at work. Not now, please not now. She groaned as another sharp pain slowly caressed her stomach. Her tail flicked irritably as the hours passed and she was confronted by more pain than she had expected. Finally she opened her mouth and let out a sharp cry. "Rootwhisker!" she screeched, the action causing her body to rattle with pain. She winced and awaited the sounding of paw steps which came quickly, followed by the appearance of the ruddy medicine cat.

Her green irises flickered dimly in the den light as she set some herbs before the queen. "Eat those," was all she said as she positioned herself beside her. "When you feel a contraction, which you'll know, push," she instructed. "And no matter how much it hurts, you gotta keep going," she added. Chirpingbird nodded slowly, swallowing the fear that rose in her chest.

She waited for a while, until finally a wave of pain unlike any other rippled through her abdomen. She yowled and pushed thinking of nothing else but the survival of her kits. The pain lessened and she turned her head slightly, still finding it hard to see over her giant stomach. Rootwhisker was instantly at work, licking away the sac and bringing the kitten to life.

It let out a wail and the medicine cat smiled, placing it beside the queen. "A tom, he has your colors but looks more like Spottedbelly," she purred. Chirpingbird was able to twist her head to look down on the tiny kitten. He was white with black forepaws and several other markings that reminded her of Spottedbelly. She felt tears of joy well in her eyes but she pushed them back as another painful rippled passed through. "Another is coming," the ruddy she-cat meowed.

This one came more slowly and Chirpingbird was thankful when it was over. "Another tom," the medicine cat announced. "He's pretty neat looking," she added, placing him beside his mother at the queen's stomach.

Chirpingbird twisted and looked down at the black tom which had white speckles, a white tail-tip, white paws, a white chest and underbelly, and several other white markings. Chirpingbird smiled weakly. Several more minutes passed before she felt another contraction. This one hurt more than anything. Chirpingbird let out a pain-stricken yowl as she pushed with all her might. Rootwhisker gave a concerned look at the queen but smiled when she saw the kit slip out onto the moss. She worked quickly, noting that this one was the biggest yet. She blinked with surprise when the little kitten let out a loud yowl that almost seemed...furious. Rootwhisker swallowed and set him beside his brothers, thinking it over a moment. Such a vicious, hateful yowl it had sounded like, but then again, he was only a kit.

"Another tom. He doesn't look like you or Spotted really," Rootwhisker meowed. She watched as Chirpingbird craned her head and smiled down at the kitten. "He's beautiful, they all are," she purred. The black and white female suddenly winced and laid her head back down on the moss. "One more," the small medicine cat meowed. This kit came fast and was smaller than the rest. This time it was a she-cat. _A little runt..Just like me. _

Rootwhisker smiled once she finished working and then finally set her beside her siblings. She cleaned up the nest by removing the blood soaked moss and replacing it with fresh moss. Then she beamed down on the new litter. "Congratulations, Chirpingbird. The last one was a she-cat, a little runt. Get some rest now," she smiled before slipping out of the den.

Chirpingbird sighed and looked down on her kits, licking them each in turn. Eyeing the mostly black one she smiled and a name popped into her head. "Fleckedkit," she meowed, satisfied with the name. "Fleckedkit fits you well, my darling," she purred, rasping her tongue over his head.

She turned to the others, names not coming as easily. She glanced down on the biggest tom, quite surprised by his markings now that she could actually focus on him. He had a dark brown pelt with light brown patches, white legs, a white tail tip, white ear tips, and a white stripe beneath each eye. Chirpingbird knew he would be muscular like his father. She licked him but pulled back as he let out an angry yowl, his face twisted with hatred. Chirpingbird was shocked by the strong emotion he portrayed, and especially one that clearly resembled hate and resentment.

She blinked a couple times and watched as he began suckling. "I'm crazy. It must've just been my mind. I'm tired," she reminded herself. She decided to name him and think of names for the other two in the morning. She knew Spottedbelly wouldn't care what she named them. She thought for a minute, but she just couldn't get that angry, twisted face he made.

She sighed and then finally decided on a name. "Hollowkit. You will be Hollowkit, my little son," she meowed, licking him again. When she thought it over, it wasn't a bad name, and she fell asleep with a light and happy heart.

Chirpingbird gazed down on her kits, sighing softly. She had decided to name her firstborn Coalkit and the she-cat Brownkit. Her tail flicked as she watched her kittens play. They were already almost three weeks old and still hadn't seen the camp yet. Being a first time mother she was extremely cautious with her little ones. One little mistake and she could lose a child of hers. She watched Coalkit and Fleckedkit play while her gaze strayed to Hollowkit. He was clawing at a patch of moss, tearing it to shreds with his claws. He was already quite big already but he was so reclusive. Something didn't seem right about him. She often spoke with him and played with him, but he would avoid his siblings and other kits at most times. She would occasionally see him playing with others and being social but mostly he preferred to be alone. Spottedbelly still hadn't seen them and she was fine with that, she had wanted them to get bigger before he saw them. She was disturbed by a prodding in her leg and she glanced down to see Hollowkit staring up at her. Two of her kits had mismatched gazes that they obviously got from Spottedbelly. Hollowkit had a gold and green eye and Brownkit had a blue and gold eye.

"Mommy? W-wen can we gwo owutside?" he asked, staring up at her with large eyes.

Chirpingbird smiled and rasped her tongue over his head. "You're too young, my dears. There will be plenty of time to explore the camp when you're older. I just can't risk you getting hurt."

Hollowkit frowned and waddled away, sitting down at the edge of the nest. "Bwut I won't gwet hurt mommy. I'm twough!" he squeaked, puffing out his chest.

Chirpingbird chuckled and nodded. "I know you are, but you're easy prey for a hungry eagle or hawk. It'll carry you off before you can say mouse, and mommy would never forgive herself," she meowed, staring down on the litter which were now all watching her.

Hollowkit clearly showed his disappointment, for he frowned and buried his face into the moss. Chirpingbird sighed and glanced outside. Maybe they could just play near the entrance..? She felt bad saying no to her precious little ones, but she had to keep them safe. They weren't stable on their feet yet. Even though Hollowkit was the most mature out of the bunch the others weren't. Chirpingbird laid down and decided to think it over.

_Why me? Why stinkin' rottin' me? Why not Rippletide or Hollowgaze or even the random rogue from down the street, Game Changer? _Elusivedream pondered these thoughts as she lay on the fence between Clan Life and the true Wild.


	15. Just Avalon

The scene seemed.. perfect. The woodlands in this area were surrounded by a soft mist, whirling softly with each chilling spring breeze offered. To tell the truth, the scene looked more autumn going into winter rather than winter towards spring. Long-dead autumn leaves littered the ground, vivid green streaks poking through. Grass. It felt soft under her paws as she came in with another wave of mist. Another wave of chilling air. Another mystery. But other than that, she was just another cat. Avalon. How rare her name seemed. How rare she looked; with a soft creamy white coat etched with dark gray markings on her legs, tail, and muzzle. She had the softest of blue eyes, but the orbs were sharp and shattered like chips of ice. She only seemed like.. a threat, one could possibly say. No, no, she wasn't that kind of cat at all. Hotheaded and stubborn sometimes, yes, but other than that, she was kind, patient, and just.. Avalon.


	16. CarniAvalon

A funny looking Tom sat in the grass, his Tigerstar like fur rustling in the wind. He looked around with his bright red eyes. He twitched his bright red nose and rasped his tongue over his sore, bright red pads. He looked a little bit like a clown, a lot of cats said that. Only his mate didn't call him funny.

he tilted her head to the tom as she walked past, just visible through the soft mist that seemed to cling to her fur. As if it belonged. She stopped, but didn't stare not burst out laughing. She just.. stopped and that was it. A shrug rolled her shoulders. She didn't have that many friends. She would meet them and hang out with them for a few moons, then suddenly, they would be gone. Those were the friends that got to know her, so after everyone started to drift off, she decided not to make so many friends in all the places she went to. Avalon scaled a tree in a matter of seconds, stopping and resting at a mid-way branch.

Carni sighed and looked around, he knew that someone was watching, he was used to this feeling. He couldn't find who was staring at him, nor the scent. He tucked his paws on his underbelly and stuck his nose in his fur, not wanting any cat to see him.

She tilted her head once more, confused. "Hello!" she meowed down, deciding to scale her way back down. She didn't understand why she had done that, it wasted her energy. Maybe she was just curious and didn't want to make a fool of herself. That was a good excuse. Good? Kinda? Maybe? Not really? She decided with the option of 'Not really,' her excuse wasn't that great. "Sorry if I.." she trailed, unsure if she should continue.

Carni lifted his head up at her, eyes full of sorrow. "You where laughing at me, weren't you?" He said sadly, "I didn't ASK to be born this way!" He yelled, sticking his head back into his paws.

"I wasn't laughing!" she exclaimed with surprise and shock. "I'm not that kind of cat!" she suddenly snapped at him.

Carni looked at her, "Sorry, I have really low self-esteem." he said, putting his paws out "I guess it's just all because my parents, I'm not joking, pushed me out into the open when I was just born." he mewed sadly, "Twolegs found me later, they took me in, and they gave me a collar," he said, flicking his tail to the bright yellow collar sitting on his neck, "I escaped, and I have killed every single cat that has made fun of me," he laughed, "and I put their teeth on my collar." he mewed, flicking his tail once again to all the sharp teeth on his collar "Two of them," he laughed, a sinister laugh, "are my parents." he laughed, turning it into a little bit of a cackle.

"You won't harm me.. will you?" It was odd for Avalon to be frightened like this, it was a little surprising to her, too. She had never ever met someone like this. "Will you..?" she asked again, voice small.

Carni looked at her and shook his head, "You didn't make fun of me." he mewed, getting up "so, no, I won't."


	17. Ribbon is Crimson: Voices

Night lay over the forest, the accompanying darkness broken up by the glint of silver that managed to get to the forest floor through the branches of skeletal trees. It gave the landscape an eerie sort of look, but a beautiful one all the same. It was the kind of scene that Shadowbear melted into naturally. His ebony fur made slipping along undetected in the darkness as easy and natural as the unsheathing of claws. He padded into the clearing in silence, concealed perfectly, aside from gleaming yellow eyes. The pupils within these eyes took up a vast majority of the irises, absorbing as much potential light as they were capable of. Seeing that he was alone, the tom proceeded to go and plop himself down beneath the boughs of a pine tree. Once there, his tail curled neatly by his side. He glanced around again as he sat down, triangular ears twitching atop his skull. Then he rolled his scarred shoulders in a shrug and lifted a paw, grooming the dirt away with rasping strokes of his pink tongue.

The she-cat padded as silently as her belly would let her. She was unhappy because the trees couldn't support her for now but she was also restless yet exhausted and uncomfortable. She passed listlessly through the shadows and the moonlight, hardly seeming to notice or care. The moonlight made her long snow-white fur almost seem to glow while the ginger zebra-markings seemed to turn into a bloody red that seeped over her figure. Her muzzle and ears were ginger along with her tail-tip. The female also had three brown stripes spanning across the length of her body. A dorsal stripe and two flank-stripes. The dorsal stripe started at her forehead and ended at her tail-tip while the two other stripes started at the corners of her crimson eyes and spanned along her sides to meet the dorsal stripe at her fluffy tail-tip as well. Her hidden toes were also brown. But what seemed to stand out the most was that the lithe she-cat was pregnant and at this point, waddling in irritated discomfort. Crimson Ribbon, as was her name, had decided to take a stroll in the moonlight to try and run the restlessness out of her system but it only seemed to make her more restless. If she lie down then the energy would burn at her paws until she had to move around. She felt horrible too. Queasy, sleepy, restless. Crim felt like the walking dead.

_How do you not know my name? Hm...you must be one of those newer additions to the clan. Fine. I'll humor you._

_Hollowgaze. That's it. Oh, no, don't bother. I don't care about yours._

_For the sake of your eyes remaining in your head, I implore you rethink the notion of my being anything but a tomcat._

_ What does my bloody name tell you about my rank? Come on, think long and hard. You can do it. I'll wait._

_...No? It is imbeciles like you that make me ashamed to be a warrior._

_ The same clan you are, rodent. ParadoxClan. By the gods, what happened to induce such stupidity? You best be seeing Brownowl. Not that I particularly care about your health. From your range of questioning it appears there's little hope for you, anyway._

_ Ugh, do not even try to compare your appearance to mine. My pelt is a starless night, spattered with licks of flame. It hides the well-earned, coiled muscles beneath-at least until I am brought into battle. You best be gone if that should happen. Heh, Now look at your pelt, ruddy and unkempt. Hah! There is a reason that my claws are always unsheathed, rat. Pray that it not be you._

_ My friends? I am appalled that you would ask such a thing. I do not have friends. There are very few I will ever socialize with. The list does not include you._

_Don't you dare talk to me about being 'cruel'. I am not heartless, I am honest. If you want sugarcoated words I'm sure you can find a plump little queen to talk to. Or your mother-if she's even still alive. Oh, she isn't? What a pity. There's nobody here to make you feel good about yourself, now.~_

_ You say I went too far? I say 'far' is the only place worth going. It would be in your best interest to learn that before you try and speak with me. Yes, I do despise most of ThunderClan. Why? Hmm. You expect there to be a reason, I see. How dense of you...There isn't._

_I am going to pretend you never made a reference to my having no mate._

_I find this entire conversation to be a waste of my time. Get out of my sight, stranger. And never find yourself in it again_.

Hollowgaze stirred in his sleep, smirking as he remembered the look on his face, he sighed and rolled over.

_Where will I go? __**You can die if you like. **__You're no help. __**Isn't that what I'm here for? **__NO! Just leave me alone...You know where the lake is? __**...**__ Hello? __**... **__DUDE! ANSWER ME! __**...You said to leave you alone. **__Oh stop acting smug, do you or do you not? __**Take a right past the ridge, then a quarter left at the rock that marks the start of LighteningClan and then top it off with a slight jog to the hill. Then past that hill lies the lake of you dreams...**__Rock? What rock? There isn't any rock! __**I know, but I've always wanted to say that! And geddit? 'dream'? Elusivedream? Oh, how do you live with me?! **__I've been asking myself that SAME question for years now...__**oh don't use that -through the gritted teeth- kinda thing! Come on, lighten up! I have more jokes to test for your annoyance and discomfort! **__SHUTUP!_


	18. Beloved Clan

Elusivedream dipped her paw into a river that snaked its way back to her beloved clan. _EX-beloved._ she thought wryly. Ferns rustled in a rhythmic patterns as the sparrows sang. _Man, hate those birds...they always make me...slee...zzzzzzzzzzzz. _

_Come on, theres GOT to be a way out!_ the sound of well polished shoes slapped against the equally shiny limousine floor. _Shoot..._Swayther stopped as he hit a dead end. "COME. _ON._"


	19. Fragmented? Or not?

Swayther looked around to see if there was any way out, but the dank and grimy hall full of chemical waste yielding no escape. He took out a glass vial full of turquoise liquid. _Seemed valuable enough, _he thought, frowning. Footsteps erupted nearby along with enraged voices, warning him of his "co-workers" approach. His eye drifted to a drain, he looked from it to the vial and back again. _Oh what the heck._ He threw the glass container into the air and watched as it crashed down, breaking and spilling its contents into the dark depths of the sewage tunnels.

Elusivedream stood up suddenly. _Did...the river seem more...VIBRANT than usual?_ She shook that thought from her mind and paused to gulp down water. _Huh, tastes like chicken. _She froze, then replayed that thought again. _How do I know what chicken tastes like? Whats a chicken?! _Her troubled mind switched tracks as the sudden warmth of the sun was replaced by distant thunder. "Okay, where should I go now? Maybe...to...Per...-" Her voice was smothered by sudden fatigue as her eyelids began to close.

A rabbit watched disdainfully as a grey she-cat lapped up water from a sewage road. Drinking Two-Leg waste..._please._ Every young rabbit knew that beneath the blue water was the darkness of the evil rabbit spirits who were wronged in the past. Just went to show how stupid these beings were, especially with all that nonsense of the _cats in the sky_ that would protect them. Pitiful creations. The rabbit sniffed pompously and turned away.

"Nooooo...hrmmm..."

It spoke? That idiot can speak? How?! Anyone stupid enough to drink from litter shouldn't possess the ability to put sounds together! The rabbit grew closer to the huddled figure. He prodded it. A huge ripple answered him, distorting the grey she-cats features, making them even more grotesque if possible. Her thin face bubbled and her fur started to fall out as she continued to grow. This wasn't possible. NONE of this was possible. The rabbit leapt back, convincing himself that this was an elaborate prank or a new method of hunting these atrocious creatures concocted. But no. She grew to the size of five rabbits, her paws splitting open to reveal the fingers Two-Legs had. Grey changing to peach, head fur turning to hair, the ears melding in. Frightened out of his wits, the rabbit fled in terror.

Elusivedream groaned. Her stomach hurt like the Dark Forest. The silver, grey, and black feline pushed herself up into a sitting position, clasping her paws around her kne- _**SAY WHAT?!**__ Wait, I don't have any-_ Elusivedream looked down to see pale _fingers_ staring up at her. She looked up, then down again. She blinked. The same image. The runaway rubbed her eyes and chanced another glance. _Oh no...ohnoohnoohnoohnoooooooo! _She leapt up and saw the fact that she had FEET instead of paws. _And she was standing on two legs._

"I'M A TWOLEG!"


	20. Mystery Number One: Cat?

The golden light came slicing through the thickened bramble of the nursery. The afternoon rays pierced her lids, causing her to slowly wake due to the bright beams shining on her face. She had receded to the back of the nursery that day, facing the back wall so that the light wouldn't reach her and wake her so early. It was like an alarm that woke her when it was time. She opened her lids, azure optics squinting lightly, due to the uncomfortableness of the light, and the blur of her good vision. Blinking a few times, her sight turned clear, allowing her to look at her surroundings. She did not see a a late morning sky, with whiter light, but a richer vibrant sky, signaling morning. She had slept later than she had wanted, making her head hurt slightly from sleeping way too long. She stretched forward, cracking her cartilage into place slowly, making her bones pop. She licked her ruffled fur back into its place, making the dark rich brown over her cream pelt flatten. She did the same to her chocolate colored paws (even her one cream one) and plumed tail. Finishing her routine, she got up, jumping out of the nursery, coming into the opening light. _Wonder where Elusivedream is..._


	21. Memories

_She roared and I yelled. She fought and I scraped. They say your life flashes in front of you when you're about to die. Images of me and HER; playing, talking, running, LAUGHING. So what went wrong? I tried to ask her. I tried to make things right. I tried to bring her BACK._

_I tried..._

_I tried..._

_I tried..._

_But nothing happens. She continues to scream and thrash. So do I. I want our life back. I want HER back. I wish we could go back to how things were. I wish she would stop running. I wish she would tell me what wrong. But its only wishes. And wishes never come true. I hate myself for letting this happen. I hate HER. I HATE her and FEAR her._

_Come back_

Elusivedream stared out into the distance, itching in her Two-Leg clothes. She fingered her HAIR and then felt her ears. Cat ears. _At least I have those._


	22. Badder than Hollow

"I can't even go back." Elusivedream muttered, her knees drawn up to her chin. She was sitting just before the entrance of ParadoxClan territory. "The longer I stay here, the more I'll want to go back." She got up and crossed into the Two-Leg 'city', as they call it.

_I. Just me. We used to be one and the same. One mind in two bodies. Listen to me, heh, I still think you'll change your mind. We both know that won't happen, don't we? I've given up on you, I guess its been too long. Sara tried to bring you back, she wished for you back. But she never gave up, she's still trying. Did you know that? I've tried to bring us all back together...but I don't care anymore. You can go be murdered and slain and I won't even blink. Sara's been crying. Crying because of you. We won't be the same either. We can't hang out because your memory hasn't disappeared. Yet. I bet you never thought I'd hate you, that you never thought I could hate you much. But you'll never known how much I do...Until I kill you._

She covered her ears with the floppy thing on the back of what she wore. Elusivedream sat just in an alleyway, crouched over and absentmindedly playing with her hair, which was shorter than she would've liked. But of course that was before any of this happened. In a few short sunrises, the she-cat had gone from a troubled feline to a confused Two-Leg. "Just why?" she muttered mutinously. "Why ME? Why not that foxhearted fleabag Frailheart?" But asking questions with no answer wouldn't get her anywhere.

Elusivedream got up and walked in whatever direction 'in front' was. She passed strange buildings called 'shops'. There was Maybel's, French Bakery Goods, and something called 'Kitty Clips'. She peered inside through a see-through thing, and saw a Two-Leg getting its only fur cut. Elusivedream immediately backed away in horror, what kind of place is this? Shaking her head, she moved on, making her way past people and pets. She kept her head down the whole time, so she didn't see a boy coming out of one of the buildings.

"HEY!"

Elusivedream looked up too late. She crashed into him and knocked the pile of strange cylinder things out of his hand. Golden-brown liquid gushed out all over him. It smelled like the beans Hollowgaze had brought back once, he called them coffee beans. The TwoLeg stood in front of the entrance, his arms aloft, as his shirt was stained brown and dripping.

"I-I'm sorry!" Elusivedream said horrified. _Hey, did I just speak Two-Leg?_

The boy shook his hands and looked up at her. His brown hair shone slightly as he shook his head, his green eyes sharp. "You, are going to be paying for this."

Elusivedream backed a step away, thankfully this part of the city was almost empty since it was almost nightrise. "I don't have any money!" She said alarmed, "I'm- er..."

"You're, broke?" the other asked, he was dressed in workmen clothes, like a janitor. "Oh, okay then."

"Thank you," Elusivedream sighed, relieved. She didn't even know what money was. Maybe that stuff that changed her had also given her knowledge. "I'm very gratef-"

"THAT'S what you thought I'd say?! People are not that nice in the real world STU-PID." His mouth curved into a horrible smirk as one eye grew larger than the other. "You ARE going to pay me back, this stuff costs a whole lotta dough."

Elusivedream's eyes widened in astonishment, "I told you! I don't have any money!"

The boy got a gleam in his now shard like green eyes. "Don't worry, I'll think of something." Elusivedream backed away even more, but her legs wouldn't run, she didn't know how.

_I_s_ it possible, that I've found someone worse than Hollowgaze?_ she thought, pulling the hood of her hoodie even lower.


	23. Welcome Freak

Elusivedream walked behind the TwoLeg, scowling all the way. 'Dumb honor...' she thought mutinously. 'Honor for her actions' was the only reason she was still following this jerk. Stupid principles, why do we need them?

Being in her own world, she suddenly crashed into the boy, immediately falling backwards. "Oops, watch out stupid." he grinned.

"Youdirtyrotten*********************************** *******************************"

"Language idiot." he replied in a sing-song voice as he entered a large building through revolving doors.

'Who comes up with these things?' Elusivedream thought as she carefully entered, thinking that the door would slam into her. Upon entering, she hardly looked at anything. Just stared at her bare feet. How cold the ground was all of a sudden. She then remembered an old tale from when she was a kit.

"'And the kit entered the TwoLeg nest, curious as he was. The ground, stripped of the soft grass, was cold. So cold to the touch. His fallible paw-pads were soon numb, and he slipped and slid. Then, he heard a soft footstep behind him. Then a whirring noise-'" Elusivedream closed her eyes, hearing footsteps. The whirring.- "' out of the darkness, a tall figure stepped out and said, '-'"

"I'm right behind you." Elusivedream jumped so violently that she crashed into the doors behind her, when she looked up, she saw the messy brown-haired twoleg looking down at her, a smirk across his face. "Oh, did I scare you?"

She struggled up and pushed past him. "Jerk."

His grin widened and he then crossed to another set of doors and pressed a button. The whirring sound came again, then the doors opened to reveal a box thingy. They both entered and Elusivedream instantly grasped the railing inside as the box began to move. Under her breath she muttered prayers to StarClan. 'Don't lemme die, don't lemme die...' The boy was watching her with amusement as he himself was leaning causally against the back wall. "Idiot." he whispered.

Soon, it was over. Elusivedream, having survived the box contraption, was now ready for anything. He led her out and through several hallways before halting in front of a mahogany door. 'Precious tree, may you rest in peace.' She had almost said 'pieces'. She suddenly found that funny. 'Great, more twoleg lingo and behavior. Just what I need.' She stepped through the archway after the boy and looked around at the "fur-nee-ture". There was a slab of something propped up by four twigs, and another larger one in what she realized was a "chiken" or was it "kitch-een"? The neko felt him watching her, she turned to face him. He was lying lazily on a " bed", his arms behind his head, one leg bent. His green gaze met hers and she quickly averted her own gaze.

"Never been in a house before?"

"No." she answered blandly, hoping he didn't ask wh-

"Where do you come from?" he asked it, great.

"Er," She looked around and saw a piece of paper stuck to the fridge. "France."

His eyebrows rose,"Really?" she nodded. "Hmm, whats your name?"

"My...name?"

"Yeah, your name. The thing you're called, stupid." he rolled his eyes.

"Erm," she doubted he would believe 'Elusivedream', so she chose one of the rogue names she had heard. "Fre-ek."

"Freak?" she nodded again, cocking her head as he got a weird expression on his face.

"What's yours?" she asked hastily.

His smirk returned,and Elusivedream realized he had the best expressions. Even if they were always mean. He looked at her, one eye partially closed. "They call me Swayther."

Elusivedream pulled her hood down more, shading her face as she smiled. Why? She didn't know.

"Take off your hood."

"What?" she asked sharply, then he repeated it. "Take off your hood."

Elusivedream felt her ears grow warm. _StarClan save me... _Something in his voice made her act, she slowly reached up and pulled back her hood.


	24. Threat

_Guess what? Sara died. Are you happy now? Don't be surprised if you show up and I kill you. I'll torture every bone in your body. I want to see you squirm, to see your eyes glaze over. Just like hers did. Did you know her eyes were blue and brown? No. You never bothered after it happened. You never looked back. Care for me to remember for you? Can you still imagine her face; resilient, hope, anger, sadness. But no, all you saw was a crouching girl with her "out of style" black hair. A mess. Then we come to you. Light, free, an angel. But thats just a show isn't it? Wait, and wait in fear. Because I will tear you limb from limb._


	25. Connections

Elusivedream, or rather Freak, stood silently as Swayther looked at her. Her feline ears stood up partially, her black...hair, shading her face from him. But her bi-colored eyes glinted out. Watchful. Scared. Wary.

Swayther's calm expression told nothing of the war that waged beneath the surface. _No. It can't be. _His thoughts were fragments, distorted and unclear._ Died. No. She. Why. HOW?_ He licked his lips and sighed, still a mess under his calm deposition. "Nice ears."

Elusivedream glared at him.

"WHAT?! WHERE'D SHE GO?!"

Hollowgaze's howl vibrated throughout the forest, sending flocks of birds into flight. Torrentstar was trying to calm him down with his gentle monotoned words. "Don't worry, she will come back. It was just the pressure of the deputizing."

The angered warrior rounded on his leader, "How can you say that?! She was your DAUGHTER!" He dug his claws deep into the hard ground, shredding it to pieces. "She was my...mat-" he couldn't bring himself to say it.

Frailheart whimpered in a corner, surrounded by Hollowgaze's former companions. "Why? Why'd he have to like HER?!" she wailed as her group tried to comfort her.

Her would-be lover threw a look of pure contemption at her that sent her into more wailing. "SHUT UP YOU-" he stopped abruptly, realizing his leader was still here.

Torrentstar shook his head gravely, looking up at the stars that were scattered about the sky and surrounding the bright half-claw moon. "I fear it was my fault that this happened..."he said, looking even more grave and grey.

Hollowgaze fought an urge to rip his throat out. _Soon..._

Elusivedream stared at the ground. "Have your fill yet?"

Swayther cocked his head, "Okay, so now I know why they call you Freak," _Sara..._


	26. Pretty Kitty ain't so pretty

ParadoxClan, or "Kitty Park" as known to squirrels, was the picture of silence and grief. Squeak's bright black eyes squinted as a tall, dark kitty emerged from a pile of twigs. His face was gaunt, eyes sunken, but the little squirrel saw a once proud kitty. His kitty friend had told tales of the Kitty Parks, saying that they were not to be messed with. Squeak wasn't sure whether he believed it. His eyes watched the dark shape, this kitty was as pretty as they come- dark, lean, muscular. He edged forwards as the pretty kitty started "miauing" to another older kitty.

"Why aren't you doing anything?!" asked the pretty kitty, his voice hoarse with suppressed something-or-other.

"Now is not the time," replied the older kitty, his vocal cords straining slightly.

" '_Not the TIME_'?!" shouted Pretty Kitty.

Old Kitty sat heavily on the mossed ground. He closed his eyes and didn't respond for a long time. Pretty Kitty's sharp pointy things slid out of his paws, arched and sharpened.

He didn't look so pretty now.

"Torrentstar," he said softly, pointy things digging into the poor ground, "may I ask you for a favor?"

Squeak glanced around as he scampered from tree to tree. Why was the Kitty Park so quiet? Then, he realized. No other kitties.

Torrentstar nodded briefly. "What have you to ask of me?"

Pretty Kitty's voice echoed around, his muzzle splitting and his eyes glowing. His fangs catching the SunDown shine.

News travels fast in the forest, that is common knowledge. This time was different though, it was as if lightening struck the whole landscape. Dan Deer heard it first. He had been snuffling around near a Cemetery Grove, for he was a dull-witted creature. Dan strayed near the entrance of the Grove for the first time, peeking in quietly upon his graceful legs. The Grove was empty as far as he could see- but wait, what was that?- oh, there were two of those Feline Furies.

He heard one of them ask for a favor; the older one nodded to the younger one. "What have you to ask of me?"

The younger one had the Devieer face upon him, and he said, ever so politely:

"When I kill you...please scream."


	27. Encounter Redpaw

Roaringpaw was in trouble. He knew he shouldn't have left camp, but he was awfully hungry.

_His half-starved brain fantasized his Clan's cheers and applause as he pranced into camp and laid a full-grown buck onto the feeble FreshKill pile._

_"Roar-ringpaw! Roar-ringpaw!" shouted the Clan._

_He raised his head proudly as his leader, Marredstar, finally recognized his potential. "Roaringpaw, you shall now be known as Roaringthunder, StarClan has already given their approval."_

_Roaringthunder stood to match his soaring spirit, all the while listening to his Clanmates' praise._

__The sharp sound of crows jerked him from his Never-To-Be World. _I like Redpaw better anyhow..._ He thought, replacing his clan given name with the first one that came to mind. He shuddered as he remembered his true warrior name, that he would've been given: Roaringpetal. It was idiotic, of course, but no one challenged Marredstar. _Redthunder sounds way cooler..._the newly self-renamed apprentice argued stubbornly. His red paws found their way to an old establishment of sorts, as if noticing the rumbling above their rider. _Dumb rain..._

* * *

Rats had always made it a point to find shelter when it rained. They weren't the idiots humans made them out to be. Gustavo T. Gom had felt it first as he had thought of excuses to get out of work.

_"See? My mother is ill! She sent for me, read the note if you won't believe me: 'Please come home quickly, I must give someone my testament before I die. And that shall be you __**G.T.G.**__'. So I've __**got to go**__!"_ Unluckily for Gustavo, he had used this same excuse earlier when he felt like taking a day off. But this moment of lose was forgotten as he march to the factory. A low, deep rumble shook his vertebrate. The Great Sky Rat had been made angry, his shouts echoed down the long UnderEarth tunnels.

_"The sky is roaring!" _He had bravely shouted while escorting his companions to safety, (in reality, Gustavo had burst into hysterics, but let us not ruin his moment).

During the confusion, he had been separated from his co-workers as the tunnels began to flood and there was a stampede to the OuterEarth. Because of this, he had been forced to take shelter in a rundown building.

His short fur was drenched and it did little to nothing as he tried to shake himself dry.

A footstep.

Breathing.

Two hearts.

A red cat slinked out.

* * *

Roari-or rather REDpaw- perched himself atop a plank, high above the ground. He shook his pelt and shuddered as thunder struck. _Why did I have to choose _here_ of all places? Can't I have gone t-_ Wait, was that another cat? Yes...it was. Redpaw eyed a black, grey, and silver she-cat by herself near a pool that had formed in a crevasse. He moved closer to say hello.


	28. Brew

_Singing, what a tiresome occupation. Writing lyrics, preforming, dealing with fans of all things._ Thoughts pertaining to this circled around Freak's mind as she surfed the world wide web, or Internet as commonly known by the whole world. She had learned much of the TwoLeg world during the few days as Swayther's servant. Yes, servant. Mainly preforming various duties that the TwoLeg man did not want to do himself. He also would not give her anything in return. Does that matter? Of course it does, especially when it deals with finding out what exactly happened to our little outcast feline.

In fact, she's asking him again, right now. Would you like to listen in? By all means, do.

"How advanced are you Tw- humans?" Freak asked hesitantly as she looked over a list of dirty work.

This was not a good start, but we love Freak like that. "Er, we HUMANS are pretty advanced, we got digital news papers, holographic games, but no means to shorten the work load..." Swayther responded as he carefully put together an antique 42 inch LCD television.

"What about animal testing? Have you figured out how to change animals to humans?"

He sighed and then stretched from his hunched position squinting as he looked at her, "Are you mad?"

"What?"

"Just answer it, yes or no."

"Erm, yes?"

"Well that explains it."

"Oh-kay..." By this answer, you can tell Freak needs a bit of catching up to do on slang.

Sway, as his nickname was, yawned and gestured to the list which Freak had been pouring over. "Screw that okay? Just dump it, wouldn't have done a good job anyway." Freak could tell her was thinking about the washer incident.

"It wasn't my fault it started shaking, all I did was put in the soap."

"Yes, which overloaded the machine. Who told you to pour in the whole dang BOX?"

Freak had no comment at this point.

"Exactly, now, I'll tell you something if you tell me something."

The other nodded, unsure of what was about to happen. She had been in this TwoLeg situation for less than a cycle of the full moon and already she was accustomed to various humans practices such as eating with a "forcke". She had even learned "art" and "literature" and "math", but she couldn't figure out this stupid BOY.

"Okay then," He said, leaning back in his swivel chair. "Where did you actually come from?"

"What?" Freak blinked, "I said France didn't I?"

He narrowed his eyes, "You said it yes, but you lied. I want to know why.."

She snorted. "Wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

Freak glanced at him, he WAS serious. _And all this time I thought that was his joking face. What an idiot. _Freak then realized she had called herself a name. _Seriously? Aww...can I be deputy again? Please?_

Alas, StarClan did not hear her cry. Want to know why? For in this very time span, trouble brewed.

* * *

Torrentstar awoke shortly. Light shined in his face, but then dimmed. _What? _His eyes refused to open, his sense of smell clogged, it felt like he was drowning. Then all of a sudden he was.

"N-No!" he coughed, but that was a mistake. Water gushed in through his open mouth and filled his gasping lungs. His eyes rolled to the back of his head.

He was going to explode.

He was going to die.

He ẘαṧ ℊ◎їᾔℊ ԏ◎ Ðяσωη.


	29. --

COMPUTER CODE COMMENCING

DELETING PROJECT Z.E.M.X

WAITING...

ERROR

UNKNOWN SOURCE

KERNEL PANIC OCCURRING

SHUT DOWN

REBOOT

REBOOT FAILURE

ERROR

ERROR

ERR-

**CODENAME:**

**DiScOrD**


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